


Powerpuff Girls Doujinshi: Boomer's Story

by CoreyWWs Really Old Stuff (CoreyWW)



Category: Cow and Chicken (TV), Dexter's Laboratory, Invader Zim, Megas XLR, Powerpuff Girls, Powerpuff Girls Doujinshi (Webcomic)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Drama, F/M, References to Shakespeare, Romance, bleedman - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-03-22
Updated: 2006-03-22
Packaged: 2018-04-27 02:15:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 56,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5029804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoreyWW/pseuds/CoreyWWs%20Really%20Old%20Stuff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on the Powerpuff Girls Doujinshi webcomic by Bleedman. The Rowdyruff Boys prepare to battle the girls once more that is, until Boomer confesses his love for Bubbles. However, the events that follow lead to a conflict beyond imagination.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. O, I am Fortune's Fool

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the very first fanfic (and in fact the first long-form story of any kind) that I ever put online, which was back way back in 2006 on FF.net. It was based on the Powerpuff Girls Doujinshi webcomic written by bleedman, which I was a big fan of at the time. It's a crossover webcomic, so it has characters from other franchises, but the Powerpuff Girls were the primary focus. If you've never seen it, check it out as the setup will certainly make a lot more sense (and explain some of the crossover and webcomic characters that appear later). 
> 
> Considering I still surprisingly get hits and reviews on this fanfic to this day, I felt it might be a good idea to back it up.
> 
> Now, I'm posting it in the original state when I posted it back in 2006. I am going to warn you now, even though I have fond memories when I was writing it, there are technical problems and flaws with this fanfic as this was when I was extremely inexperienced. There are certainly things I would do MUCH differently if I were writing it now, but since it was and still is well liked in that original state, I thought it better to just post it as is. Just keep in mind this will not have the level of polish I strive for in my newer work, just because it's so old.
> 
> I'm actually planning to put an authors note at the very end of the last chapter detailing some final thoughts on the entire thing, kinda like an "author's commentary"-type of thing. Until then, if it still seems of interest to you and you don't mind this being more-than-a-little rough around the edges, strap in and lets take a look back at Boomer's Story...

"Well boys, your training is at an end, at least for the time being. Next week, you will be given your first defense assignment. Until that time, you are free to do whatever you wish, as long as you do not reveal the nature of this Project to anyway?" said I. M. Weasel, while looking at his clipboard that had "Project: Rowdyruff" imprinted on the back of it.

"Hehe…it's about time" said Butch.

"Finally time to tie up all our loose ends" said Brick, to himself. "Let's go now. The sooner, the better. Come on, Butch, Boomer."

Butch took flight and flew away, towards their target. Brick was about to leave when he looked back and saw Boomer reading a book.

"Hey, Boomer. Whatcha reading?" asked Brick.

Boomer, previously looking detached from reality, looked up and suddenly sounded nervous. He put the book behind him. "No-nothing, Brick. J-just…stuff."

Brick raised his eyebrow, but did not ask further. "Well, whatever it is, pick it up and come on. It's time. We can finally get revenge on _them_. I'll be something we'll remember for the ages!" he said, flying off.

Boomer got up, put his book inside his shirt and looked up to the clouds. "Yeah, it'll be something to remember…for a lot of reasons." He stood there for another moment or two before flying off.

* * *

Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup were sitting around on the school playground. Bubbles was drawing something on the asphalt with chalk. Buttercup was sitting with her legs folded next to Blossom, who was deep in thought, near a tree.

"So, where's the nerd now?" asked Buttercup, to Blossom.

Blossom looked down. "He said he was going to fly out and tell Mandark's parents about…what happened. He thought it was the least he could do."

Bubbles continued to color, slightly farther away from the rest of the girls, smiling.

Suddenly, a green bolt of light struck the tree Blossom and Buttercup were sitting in front of. The tree cracked and began to fall, but Buttercup caught it, with relative ease. "What the hell?" she exclaimed.

Bubbles looked back at her sister, but a figure with green eyes landed in front of her, stomping on her chalk. Behind this figure, two other boys landed, one with red hair, and one with blond, who wouldn't take his eyes off the ground.

Butch looked down and smiled at the chalk he stepped on. "Whoops, sorry about the chalk," he said to Bubbles, sarcastically. "I meant to step on YOU."

Bubbles looked up, shocked. "It…can't be."

Blossom and Buttercup were also in shock.

"How can this be possible?" said Blossom.

Buttercup said nothing. Instead, she took the tree and threw it straight at Butch. Butch saw the oak coming, so his eyes flared red and shot two red beams that caused the tree to smolder.

Blossom, overcoming the initial confusion said "Its okay, girls. It'll be just like last time. All we have to do is-"

Brick stepped forward and cut Blossom off in mid-sentence. "Kiss us? I'm afraid that won't work this time. We have been revived and freed of that little weakness. You could say we've had our 'cootie shot. We're more powerful than you could possibly comprehend.'"

Bubbles stepped back to her sisters. "Blossom…this is bad."

"No kidding" Blossom replied.

Buttercup's eyes glared with anger. "Oh yeah? Well, we'll beat you this time even without kissing! You're not the only ones who have gotten stronger."

"Enough talk. It's time to end this, once and for all" shouted Butch.

Butch charged at Buttercup and tried to land a right hook on her. Meanwhile, Brick sped towards Blossom, attempting to take her out with a spinning back kick.

Boomer had not moved from where he was. He stood directly in front of Bubbles, about eight feet between them. Bubbles looked frightened, but then she moved into a fighting stance, waiting for Boomer's attack.

However, Boomer didn't attack.

Buttercup dodged Butch's onslaught and drove her fist into his stomach. He landed on the ground, got up, and shot a green energy bolt, hitting Buttercup in the chest and knocking her to the ground, near Bubbles.

Brick hit Blossom with his kick, but she got back on her feet and kicked him in the face, knocking him back next to Boomer.

It was then that Brick noticed Boomer had not moved. "Hey, aren't you gonna fight her?" he asked.

Boomer still said nothing, not taking his eyes off the ground.

Buttercup got up from the ground and noticed Bubbles was in a defense stance, but was not attacking.

"Hey, Bubbles, what are you just standing there for? Fight him" said Buttercup.

"…but, he's not attacking," said Bubbles, clearly confused about why he wasn't attacking.

Blossom ran up next to Bubbles. "He's probably just trying to stare you down. You know, one of them mind game or something. Some trick like that."

Bubbles looked over to him. "…I don't think so" said Bubbles. She didn't know why he wasn't attacking, but for some reason, she didn't think it was a trick.

Butch landed next to Brick and Boomer. "What are you two standing around like dummies for?"

"I was just asking Boomer why he wasn't moving" said Brick.

Butch got angry and walked next to Boomer. "Hey, pinprick. You gonna fight her or not?" he said.

For the first time since getting there, looked up, straight into Butch's green eyes.

"No" said Boomer.

"No? What do you mean NO!" said Butch, furious.

"I'm not going to" said Boomer. He wasn't afraid or angry. He simply said it as if he were stating an obvious fact.

Butch had lost his patience. "Fine, then I'll fight her!" Butch raised his hand up and charged green energy in it.

Bubbles closed her eyes and raised her hands up, bracing herself.

Boomer grabbed Butch's hand firmly and flung him aside, into the outside wall of the school.

"What the hell has gotten into you!" yelled Butch, emerging from the rubble.

Boomer said nothing. He walked over towards Bubbles.

Bubble only stared at him, afraid and confused.

Boomer looked down and put his hand behind his head, uncomfortable and nervous. He looked up, cleared his throat and spoke to Bubbles.

" _O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!  
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night_

_Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear;"_

Boomer's face grew redder and he began to stutter for a moment, but he continued. Everyone else was silent.

"B-B- _Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear!_  
So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows,  
As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows.

_The measure done, I'll watch her place of stand,  
And touching hers, make blessed my rude hand_."

Boomer looked straight into Bubble's confused eyes. At this point, Boomer's face was as red as a tomato.

"D-D-D… _Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight!  
For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night_."

Butch leaned next to Brick. "What is he saying?"

Brick only looked on, shocked.

Buttercup leaned in next to Blossom. "What kind of trick is he pulling?"

Blossom looked at Boomer. "I'm…not sure it is a trick."

Boomer, now shaking from nervousness, now simply closed his eyes and shouted out, "I love you!"

Bubble's looked straight into his eyes, shocked. "W-what did you say?"

Blossom, Buttercup, Brick and Butch all said, "What did he say?" almost simultaneously.

Boomer stood looking at Bubbles for another moment, then his started shaking again. He quickly bent down and picked up Bubble's chalks and handed them to her.

"S-Sorry about my b-brother breaking some of y-your…you know. Umm…" he said, nervously. He stepped back and turned away.

"Um…I-I should go now" he said, flying into the sky.

"Hey wait," said Brick, flying off after him.

Butch's eye twitched in anger. He stood there for a second before following Brick.

Bubbles only stood there, shocked. Blossom walked over to Bubbles and looked like she was going to say something, but couldn't think of anything.

Buttercup, however, was more outspoken. "What the heck just happened?" she yelled.

* * *

"WHAT WAS THAT?" shouted Butch, while they were all resting in a tree, about half a mile away from the school. It was beginning to get dark.

Boomer only looked down, saying nothing.

"You made fools of us! You better have a damn good explanation for that, that…whatever that was?" shouted Butch.

Boomer remained silent.

"ANSWER ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!"

"Hey, Butch, maybe you should calm down a little-" said Brick.

"Maybe you need to shut up! I'm talking to pinprick here!" snapped Butch.

Boomer didn't say anything.

Butch stepped back and grabbed his hair. He turned away, took a few deep breaths and turned back.

"Ugh…ok…ok…maybe I'm just…taking this the wrong way. Maybe you were just making some…idiotic joke. That's it, right?" said Butch, smiling weakly.

Boomer made no reply.

"I didn't really get the joke, of course I didn't understand most of the words you were saying but…there's no way you were serious…right?"

"…Dead serious" said Boomer, without taking his eyes off the ground.

"You…you…how can…ahhh, &#!" stammered Butch, furious. "Are you nuts! Get this through that tiny skull of yours, Boomer. THEY. KILLED. US. Bubbles killed YOU. She kissed you and you exploded! Have you forgotten?"

"…yeah…she kissed me" said Boomer, slightly blushing.

"You little &#, don't give me that mushy, Disney crap!" said Butch, raising his hand that was balled into a fist.

Brick grabbed his fist. "Look, Butch, I think you might be a little stressed out now-"

"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT I'M STRESSED OUT!" said Butch, shaking Brick off him. "This little...he's saying he's in love with the enemy. Our killers. Our arch-nemesises!"

"I think the proper word is 'arch- _nemesi'_ " said Brick.

"I don't care!" said Butch.

Brick stepped up and kneeled down to look Boomer in the eye. "That book you were reading? That was Shakespeare, wasn't it?"

Butch raised an eyebrow. "What does that have anything to do with anything? What book?"

Brick looked over to Butch. "That book has everything to do with this, I think…can I see it Boomer?"

Boomer didn't look up. He reached slowly into his pocket and pulled out the book he was reading earlier. Brick picked up the book and looked at it.

"Just as I thought" said Brick, without emotion.

Butch looked at the book. "What is that?"

"It's a book, although I wouldn't expect you to know what it is, considering how much of an idiot you are" snapped Brick.

Butch scowled, but allowed Brick to continue.

"This book is _Romeo and Juliet_ by William Shakespeare. I didn't really like it much, considering its…mushy nature. And that speech our Boomer gave is directly from this book. I'm surprised he memorized it completely. And I thought I was the only one with some gleaming of intelligence in this group."

"Who cares if Boomer's book smart or not? That's not the point! Are you saying you agree with his…what he did?" yelled Butch.

"Of course not," said Brick, narrowing his eyes at Butch. "I say we just all get some rest, and talk about this tomorrow."

"Says who?" yelled Butch.

"Says me. I'm the leader" said Brick, matter-of-factly.

"I don't recall anyone ever making you leader," said Butch, loosing control of his own words. "You think just because that Carrot-top girl is the leader with _them,_ that automatically makes you the leader with us. Well, screw that! This is the Rowdyruff Boys! And I'm the Rowdiest and Roughest one here! I should be the leader, not you."

"Idiots."

Brick and Butch turned towards Boomer as he said this. Boomer's eyes were still on the ground.

"Both of you are acting like idiots."

Butch punched Boomer on the right side of his face, knocking him down.

"You think you're better than us! Better than me! Fine! Go! Nobody wants you here!" said Butch.

"BUTCH! Shut up!" shouted Brick. "Lets all sleep on this. We can talk about this tomorrow…maybe some of us will…come back to our senses."

Brick set up a tent by the tree. Butch glared at Boomer as he entered it. Brick walked over to Boomer.

"Look, Boomer…are you…sure you're not just…stressed out or som-" said Brick, trying to be gentle.

"I take back nothing I said" said Boomer.

Brick frowned and crawled back into the tent. Boomer sat outside of the tent. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of blue chalk he had kept from before. He looked at in and wondered what she was doing right now.


	2. I dreamt a dream tonight

Boomer sat outside of the tent. He didn't feel like dealing with Butch and Brick for the rest of the night. Boomer had tried to go to sleep, but he couldn't, no matter how much he wanted to. He laid down, looking up at the clouds, occasionally reaching in his pocket to look at the chalk, since it seemed to be the only thing that could comfort him now.

He looked up at the clouds, not quite able to go to sleep, but not quite awake either. He stared at the stars, twinkling above. He lost track of the time, until he heard something a distance away. The sound of wheels rolling against the plains grass, getting closer and closer…

He looked up and saw a big, steel truck barreling its headlights upon him. The driver's side door opened and a figure stepped from it.

"Boomer…good to see you again. Care to have a word?" He spoke in a deep, emotionless voice. Boomer instantly recognized it as Dr. Brisbaine, the Chief Director of the project that revived his brothers and he.

"Dr. Brisbaine…" he said, shielding his eyes from the headlights. "What are you doing here?"

Dr. Brisbaine got closer, so that Boomer could look up at his face. His small spectacles were illuminated by the headlights, making him look, to Boomer, like a demon with glowing eyes.

"Very well, then I'll be blunt," said Dr. Brisbaine. "When Weasel said that you all were free for the time being, he wasn't entirely truthful. You all were being watched."

Boomer looked down, starting to get nervous. Boomer never did like Dr. Brisbaine, because usually whenever he talked to Boomer, it was to criticize him and knock him down a peg. And Boomer knew he must have been in for it now.

"You were being monitored to see how you would interact without supervision, since you all have been relatively isolated from the outside world" continued the doctor. "Your behavior was…interesting, to say the least."

Boomer said nothing.

"I had always noticed an odd behavior since your revival. Back when you were first created, our data shows you were brash, arrogant, hot-headed and aggressive. However, since your revival, you have been different. At the base, your aggression seemed to have decreased so much it is almost nonexistent. You talked only when you absolutely had to, becoming extremely anti-social and shy, and even when you do talk, you hardly ever make eye contact. You always seemed to be day-dreaming. Not to mention the fact that you rarely show your emotions externally in anyway whatsoever."

"So?" said Boomer plainly, still looking at the ground.

"Today, we hoped to see some change in your behavior. And, I must say, you gave us a lot more than we bargained for."

Boomer said nothing.

"You encountered the Powerpuff Girls, and exhibited an extraordinary display of emotions. You lashed out at your brother. You flat-out refused to fight. In your short thirty second encounter with Bubbles, you displayed more emotion, intelligence, and talkativeness than you have showed at the base during the year you have been there. Quite an inconsistency, wouldn't you say?"

"Get to the point," said Boomer. "What are you going to do to me?"

Dr. Brisbaine removed his spectacles and looked straight down at Boomer.

"You and your brothers were cloned from DNA we retrieved after your battle with the Girls, years and years ago."

"And?"

"We think that, during your revival process, some sort of…anomaly must have surfaced. Something that we had missed during your first conception. I've suspected it for quite some time, considering your behavior, but certain factors prevented me from…correcting the problem. However, after today's…event, your behavior has shown to be an even greater thanYou have a problem that in your brain we need to correct immediately.

Boomer looked up at Brisbaine for the first time during their encounter.

"Why?"

"Your emotional problems interfere with what we need you for. You are a soldier. You need to be able to fight. Fraternizing with the enemy and anti-social behavior aren't exactly qualities we look for in Nation Defense."

Boomer thought about what Brisbaine had just said, then picked up on something odd in his previous statement.

"'Enemy'? The government considers the Powerpuff Girls an enemy?"

Brisbaine paused.

Boomer was someone who thought constantly, whether he wanted to or not. He had realized a lot of strange things about this project, and he wasn't going to let it slide this time. Not when now they demanded operation on his brain.

Boomer narrowed his eyes and looked straight at Brisbaine, trying not to sound nervous.

"Let me ask you something, Doctor. Why would the government spend so much money and resources to revive us, when the last time we were alive, we leveled a city for no good reason?"

Brisbaine did not reply.

"The government wants defense and they seek it from us, three extremely dangerous boys created by an insane green monkey. They have the Justice League and the Teen Titans for defense. What use are we?"

Brisbaine's expression still did not change, nor did he reply.

"You don't plan on using us for defense at all, do you? You want us to launch an attack on something. And now you're telling me the government considers the Girls an 'enemy?' Something tells me that whoever you work for doesn't exactly have this nation's defense in their state of mind."

Brisbaine still stood there like a stone wall.

"Well?"

Brisbaine stood still for a moment longer, and then began to laugh. The laugh chilled Boomer to the bone.

"You're smarter than you look, boy. And to think, all this time I thought you had no attachment to reality whatsoever." said Brisbaine, deviously smirking in a way that made Boomer very uncomfortable.

"Whatever" said Boomer, without emotion, looking down again. He did his best to hide the fear that was slowly creeping into his mind. "Well, I'm afraid I have to decline your offer for the operation. Now, if it's alright with you, I'm going to go in my brother's tent now…" He turned to walk into the tent.

He walked four steps before he felt a sharp pain in his neck. He yelped. He put his hand to his neck, feeling a something thick jammed on the outside of it. He felt blood trickle down his neck.

He turned back to see Brisbaine holding his tranquilizer gun, still having that devious smile on his face. It was the kind of smirk made by lawyers and politicians; the kind of smirk that meant they had just gotten away with doing something awful.

Boomer tried to yell, to wake his brothers up, but his vision began to get dizzy. His eyelids began to feel like great iron weights. Boomer tried to keep his eyes open, but to no avail. The world went dark…

* * *

_Boomer dreamed he was back at headquarters, in a tube filled with water, with an oxygen mask strapped to his face. He looked out, seeing Brisbaine and Weasel. He could here them arguing about something._

" _Brisbaine, for the last time, we have to settle for this. If we attempted to use the other, he could kill us all. I will not stand by and have you endanger the lives of everyone at the station" said Weasel, angrily._

" _I have reviewed the data. It shows this one somehow has highly accelerated gamma wave activity, probably due to some sort of error in the cloning process" said Brisbaine, in his usual cold, emotionless demeanor._

" _And this is a bad thing? Gamma waves mean that he is capable for higher reasoning and extremely unique unconscious. True, this may cause some difficulties in his social development, but still…we should be glad" argued Weasel._

" _The higher-ups fear that he may be more likely to commit treasonous actions."_

" _The higher-ups be damned! All my calculations show that this higher gamma wave increase can only have positive effects on his ability to reason. The backup…the other one… that thing is a monster! The data shows he has a 96.42 chance to exhibit sociopathic and sadistic tendencies."_

" _We're trying to create soldiers, Weasel. Sadistic tendencies might not be the worst thing to have."_

" _Brisbaine, have you lost your mind! This thing could kill us all the minute we activate it! I will not endanger the lives of the other scientists here! I don't care what the Secretary of Defense has to say about it. I have my principles" said Weasel, glaring._

" _The Secretary of Defense?" said Brisbaine, smirking. "Oh, Weasel. So intelligent, yet so naïve."_

" _Naïve? What do you-"_

" _Nevermind, Weasel. Nevermind." He stared at Boomer through the glass tube. "Since I have no wish to waste our resources, we will use this one until we have reason not to. But I will be keeping an eye on it, and if it starts to act up, we're using the back-up. I'm the head of this project, Weasel. I have the final say. Are we clear?"_

" _Rrr…Fine" said Weasel, glaring. He walked out of the room._

_There was a flash of light. Boomer found himself standing in front of huge mirror. He looked at himself. He looked okay, aside from the fact he was nearly naked. However, the reflection started moving on its own. It glared at him._

" _Who the hell do you think you are?" said the reflection._

_Boomer could only stare in amazement._

_The reflection reached out and grabbed him by the throat. The reflection morphed to become Butch._

" _You are a helpless piece of dog turd on the face of existence. I'm tired of your face."_

_It tightened its grip on Boomer's throat. He could not longer breath. The ghoul turned into Brisbaine._

" _You are an anomaly. And anomalies must be destroyed._ They _demand blood."_

_Boomer could feel his neck cracking. He closed his eyes, wincing in pain. When he opened his eyes and saw what the ghoul had become now. He widened his eyes in horror._

" _Bubbles?" he whimpered out._

_Bubbles clamped down harder on his throat. She looked up at him. Her blue eyes burned with a demonic intensity. She glared, turning her usually cute, innocent face into that of someone chasing their own bloodlust. She smirked._

" _The Bubbles you know is gone. I'm hardcore now" said Bubbles, in a voice far different from her normal voice; it was a voice that sounded as if it had echoed from the very depths of hell itself._

_Boomer felt his throat collapse and he cried out._

* * *

Boomer woke up to the sound of his own screams. The cold, steel table which he laid on was drenched with cold sweat. He found himself staring at a steel ceiling. He tried to move, but he found he was unable to. His hands and feet were clamped down, and there was steel retrained on his neck to he couldn't even more his head from side to side.

Brisbaine loomed over him, holding a scalpel. He still smiled the smirk that Boomer had begun to associate with evil itself.

"Good morning, sunshine" said Brisbaine sarcastically. "I think its time we begun the operation."


	3. Queen Mab Hath Been With You

"Good morning, sunshine" said Brisbaine sarcastically. "I think its time we begun the operation."

"What the hell is this? What have you done? Where are we?" said Boomer, terrified.

Brisbaine frowned.

"You know, I think I liked you better when you didn't talk to me. Pity, that tranquilizer was supposed to knock you out for at least two hours. I guess now I have to prepare anesthesia." said Brisbaine.

"I said tell me!" shouted Boomer.

Brisbaine waved the scalpel in the air, extremely close to Boomer's eye. He pointed it at him.

"You're not in a position to demand anything" he said coldly. "I suggest you shut your insubordinate mouth."

Boomer glared and focused on his hand, trying to charge energy in it.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" said Brisbaine.

Boomer did not listen. He continued to charge, when suddenly he felt pain shoot through his arm and spreading to his entire body. He felt as if someone had pumped gasoline into his veins and then lit a match inside him. Then he realized that wasn't a sufficient enough analogy to describe the pain he was feeling. Boomer cried out, his tears beginning to run out.

"&#! DAMMIT!" he yelled out.

"Serves you right for not listening" He moved his face close to Boomer's. "Those restraints are hooked up to electrical currents, charged with enough volts to take knock a bull elephant unconscious. Of course, you and your brothers have enhanced constitutions, but I still imagined that hurt quite a bit, didn't it?"

Boomer did not give Brisbaine the satisfaction of knowing he was in extreme pain. Instead, he tried to think of a way out.

"Oh, and don't bother trying to use your eye lasers either. The entire inside of this truck is coated with a special metal alloy which would reflect your beams. And since your head can only face upward, any attempt to use that would make you blind."

Brisbaine put on his gloves. The expression on Boomer's face was that of pure fear.

"You…you can't do this" whimpered Boomer.

"And why not? I only wish to correct an error. To make you what you should be."

"What I should be?"

"You are supposed to be Boomer."

"You're crazy. I am Boomer. Who else would I be?"

Brisbaine smirked.

"Heh, for someone Weasel thought would become so intelligent, you really are an idiot."

Boomer looked puzzled. "What do you-"

"Think about it. You are not Boomer. You never were Boomer"

"I don't understand."

Brisbaine picked up an instrument that looked like a miniature cordless drill.

"Of course you don't. You're a child."

Brisbaine loomed over Boomer. He grabbed a small tank and began to fasten the hose end of an oxygen mask to it.

"Your so-called revival was the result of us constructing new organic material from your DNA."

"Yeah? What of it?"

Brisbaine turned a knob on the tank.

"You're a clone. Your body was destroyed."

"And now I have a new one. What does this have to do with-"

"You really are ignorant. You think that just because you got a new body, your soul just magically appeared back into it? Only a child could think of something so foolish."

Boomer's eyes began to widen. Brisbaine continued to talk.

"DNA doesn't carry memory, child. Your mind, your memories, are all manufactured. You only remember what we want you to remember. You only think how _we_ want you to think."

"You're…you're…" Boomer stammered. "You're lying! I am who I am! That's the way it always has been."

"Always been? Every memory you have of before your revival was only taken from data we had of the attack. There is no 'always been.' We only wanted you to remember it so you could feel the hatred you had of your murder."

"Shut…shut up!" said Boomer, being engulfed in denial. "I don't have any hatred! It wasn't a murder!"

"And you alone feel that way. Your brothers still feel the hatred in them. It's what drives them. It makes them stronger. Like I said, you are nothing but an anomaly. You were supposed to be a weapon capable of doing what we needed you to do. But with that hatred replaced with your needlessly complex emotions, you are nothing but spoiled goods."

"My…my memories…they aren't real?"

"They're real. It's your feelings that aren't real. Face facts, child. You're not Boomer. You are not even a human being. You are nothing but a weapon. No, I'm giving you too much credit. You are nothing but wasted resources. Pure utter garbage. But this operation will change all that."

Boomer said nothing. He didn't know what to say.

_My feelings…they're not real?_ he thought. _All these feelings I have…are they really just the result of a miscalculation? My feelings for Bubbles…are they a lie? Is every feeling I have a lie? How can I go on if…if all these feelings I have are just because of some scientific mistake?_

Brisbaine got the mask and placed it over Boomer's mouth and nose. He felt gas pour through the mask.

"I bet you don't feel so bad about the operation now. You'll become what you should have been. You'll have a purpose. You'll be happy. And you'll be helping us all."

Boomer didn't know what to do anymore. If he did manage to escape, what was the point? His existence was a lie. Boomer didn't even know who he was anymore. He wasn't even sure if he should even call himself Boomer.

_Maybe…its for the best_ thought Boomer to himself. _My brothers would probably like me better this way. Nobody likes me the way I am now. Maybe…I should just let it come._

He began to breath in slowly. His eyes began to get heavy again, and he knew soon he would be asleep.

_Reality began to twist. Boomer was at that strange state at the beginning of sleep where reality and dreams become interchangeable. Neither one, nor the other. One minute he was one the table, the other he was floating in a great expanse of nothingness._

" _Are you just going to let this happen?" a deep voice called out from the darkness._

" _Why not?" Boomer said._

" _You're just going to roll over for this bastard?"_

" _Why not? I'm not anything now. What's the point? What's the point of any of this?"_

_"How soon we forget our ambition." said the voice._

_He felt himself slipping into the point of return, when he looked up, and he could swear he saw Bubbles looking back down at him. She smiled a smile that emitted the light of the angels._

Boomer's eyes popped open. Brisbaine was looking down above him, his drill whirling only a few centimeters from his head, suddenly shocked at Boomer's awakening.

_NO! I CAN'T LET THIS HAPPEN!_ he thought. For that brief moment, Boomer's concern about his own mind, his feelings, everything melted away. There was not thought, no reason to his determination. Boomer only knew that if he let this happen, he wouldn't be himself, and he wouldn't be the same person _she_ saw. This was enough to burn him with determination.

Boomer began to force his arms upward, even though they were in restraints. He kept pushing and pushing.

"That won't do you any good!" said Brisbaine, his voice showing surprise.

Pain jolted through his veins. Boomer began to feel tears in his face, but he didn't stop pushing. He was in more pain than he had been in his life, but he didn't care. His body was now out of his minds control; it felt as if it was moving on adrenaline alone. His skin felt like it was about to boil. He yelled out.

His right hand broke the restraint off the table while it was still attached to his wrist. Wires dangled from it as he lifted his hand up to swat Brisbaine away from him. He reached up and tore the restraints from his neck and left arm. Then he broke his legs free.

Boomer wasted no time. He got up, took flight, and burst from the roof of the truck. He sped off into the night, having no idea where he was headed; his reason, his thinking was completely clouded by fear, confusion, and shock, not to mention the terrible pain he was in. He rushed off, traveling as fast as possible while he was still in pain.

* * *

Brisbaine touched the large bruise that was forming on the side of his face.

_Foolish boy...it doesn't matter whether you run anymore or not, I will still turn this to my advantage. I'm never caught unprepared. Nothing stops John Brisbaine,_ he thought.

Brisbaine went to the front of his truck and retrieved his laptop. He turned on the webcam and contacted Weasel back in Nevada.

The red, furry weasel humanoid popped on screen. "Brisbaine, what is it? Have you seen something wrong with the boys?"

"It's just as a feared from the beginning" said Brisbaine, hiding his emotion. "The Third Child of Project Rowdy, Boomer, has gone rouge. "

On the computer screen, Weasel looked shocked.

"Are you serious? That can't be."

Brisbaine turned his head and pointed to the bruise on his cheek.

"Look at the number he did to my face. I merely wanted to talk to him about his performance, and he just snapped. I've told you all along that boy was susceptible to treason."

"This can't be right. Did you do anything to agitate him?"

Brisbaine suppressed his urge to smile.

"Agitate him? Why would I agitate one of the main aspects of the project I am the Chief Director of?"

Weasel glared. "You've had a history of strange behavior…"

"Why would such a boy even be threatened by me? How could I, a normal person, 'agitate' a super-human like Boomer? Hold him down and try to slice his head open?" he said, sarcastically.

Weasel paused. Brisbaine continued.

"You know what has to be done. I need you to enter your half of the code."

Weasel didn't say anything for a moment.

"Maybe there's some other way. Maybe if we just found him and-" said Weasel, before he was cut off.

"He assaulted me. Assaulting a government employee is a federal offense. Then he went AWOL. The time for reason is gone. I need you to input your half of the code."

Weasel still did not respond.

"I'm giving you a direct order. Unless you wanted to be demoted once again, I suggest you comply."

Weasel glared.

"God damn you, Brisbaine" he said. Weasel typed something into his computer. "There. Once you enter your code, that…thing will be unleashed. I sincerely hope you rot in hell for this."

"Have a nice day, Weasel" said Brisbaine, ending the transmission.

Brisbaine opened a file on his desktop labeled PROJECT ROWDY- EMERGENCY BACKUPS. He opened it up. It displayed pictures of all three of the Rowdyruff Boys. Over Boomer's picture, the words "WARNING: BACKUP EXTREAMLY UNSTABLE! DUEL VERFICATION REQUIRED!" Brisbaine double-clicked on Boomer's picture.

The screen displayed the words "FIRST PASSCODE SEQUENCE ENTERED. CONFIRM SECOND PASSCODE SEQUENCE TO INITIATE EMERGENCY BACKUP." Brisbaine typed in the passcode "CHEMICALX4815162342." The message "BACKUP INITIATED. HAVE A NICE DAY."

Brisbaine closed he laptop and proceeded to the back of the truck once more. As he walked in, a false wall flipped around to reveal a tube filled with water. Inside was a small boy, naked.

The boy looked exactly like Boomer.

It opened its eyes.

"Boomer-2, arise" said Brisbaine. "Arise and prepare yourself. Your first mission will be to destroy your undeserving brother."


	4. Sad Hours Seem Long

Boomer sat down against a tree, deep inside the forest he had flown into, trying to get his thoughts together. His clothes were ripped from the struggle back at the truck. He picked the loose metal and wiring from his limbs and looked down at his wrists, which now had burn marks around them from the electric shocks. Most of the pain from the shocks had subsided, but now he now felt fatigued. He touched one of the burns with his finger and winced. After that, he stared at his hand as if he had never seen it before.

Thousands of thoughts ran through his head. _I don't even know who I am anymore,_ he thought to himself.

_Was Brisbaine really telling the truth? Is that all I am? Just a weapon? Is that all I'm supposed to be? Are my feelings…my thoughts…are they all just a mistake? Are these thoughts even mine? My thoughts…are they real? How do I distinguish what's real and what isn't? Why? Why am I like this? What do I do now?_

"WHAT THE HELL DO I DO NOW!" he yelled out, his voice echoing throughout the forest. Several owls flew from the trees, hooting. Animals stirred in the bushes.

* * *

"Hmm?" said Blossom, sitting on the couch in her house.

"What?" asked Buttercup, who was sitting next to her.

"Did you hear something just now?"

"No."

"Huh…weird," said Blossom, resting her head against the back of the sofa. "So, did you check in on Bubbles?"

"She's still in our room, talking to that stupid dog," said Buttercup, folding her arms.

"Did you actually talk to her?"

"No."

"Why not?" glared Blossom.

"What am I supposed to say?" snapped Buttercup. "I don't know anything about that kind of thing. You're the one who should talk to her."

"What makes you think I'll know what to say?"

Buttercup rolled her eyes. "Oh, come off it! All the time you've spent with old four-eyes, and you're telling me you wouldn't know how to talk to her about this kind of thing."

Blossom blushed slightly, but then retorted.

"Hey…well…yeah, but this is…this is different. I mean, this guy is an enemy of ours, and then he just out of the blue confesses something like that to Bubbles. I mean, it doesn't make any sense."

"I still think its just some kind of trick."

"I…don't know. Back there, he looked serious."

"Yeah, leave it to Poindexter's wife to get all mushy about this kind of thing" said Buttercup, mockingly.

"Hey, shut up" said Blossom, her face still red.

"Anyway, how can he be serious? You remember what they were like. Come on, one of them suddenly changing that much. What are the odds of that? It has to be a trick."

"Well, how do you explain him throwing his brother into the wall like that? And how his face was so red when he was giving that whole speech."

Buttercup opened her mouth as if to say something, thought for a moment, then closed it. She thought for a moment.

"Well," she said after some thought. "Maybe he was just…umm…acting."

"Besides, even if it was a trick, what would be the point of it anyway? Ugh, this doesn't make any sense" said Blossom, resting her head in her hand.

"Well, I'll tell you one thing. Next time I see that Little Boy Blue, I'm gonna kick him in the face for this" said Buttercup.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Nevada, I.M. Weasel sat as his computer screen, in deep thought.

_Boomer? Going rouge and punching Brisbaine for no reason? It makes no sense. Sure, he has some social problems, but I've never known him to have anger problems. Something just doesn't feel right…_ he thought to himself.

I.M. Weasel sat in his leather chair thinking for another ten minutes before he exited his office. He got in the elevator and pushed the button for the roof. The elevator gently slid upwards to the top floor, opening its doors once it got to the top.

On the roof, Weasel could see the stars, twinkling in the dark blanket of night. The only light on the roof was the light from the security guard station. Weasel could see the fat security guard through the window in the station, leaning back in his chair, watching _Action Hank_ on a miniature color television. Even though he could barely see it, he knew there was a black helicopter sitting on a giant H mark a short distance away.

Weasel walked up to the window and cleared his throat to get the guard's attention. The guard turned toward him.

"I need the helicopter" said Weasel.

"No one takes the chopper. The Director's orders" said the guard, grabbing a handful of _Cheesy Poofs_ from the bag on his desk.

Weasel reached into his pocket and slapped a crisp one hundred dollar bill on the guard's desk.

"My friend Mr. Benjamin thinks you didn't hear the Director's orders."

The guard looked down at the bill, then looked back up at Weasel.

"Well, Mr. Benjamin better have some friends to back him up if he thinks I didn't hear the Director's orders."

Weasel narrowed his eyes, grumbled, reached into his pocket and slammed another hundred on the table.

The security guard looked down at the money.

"Keep going."

"Oh, for the love of…" muttered Weasel. He took back all the money he had put on the table then pulled out his checkbook. He wrote out a number and signed it. He handed it to the security guard. The guard looked at it and widened his eyes. The security guard reached into a drawer in his desk. He pulled out the keys to the helicopter and threw them at Weasel. He waved his hand towards the helicopter.

Weasel walked over the helicopter, climbed in, after some difficulty considering his short stature, and turned it on. The propeller blades came alive and began to whirl. After a moment, the blades lifted the chopper from the concrete roof. Weasel pushed the controls forward, and he was off.

* * *

Boomer sat up against a tree with a blank look on his face. Sweat was still dripping down his face. Questions rushed through his head, making him feel like he was descending in madness. Right now, he was deep in a trance, thinking deeply, trying to get himself together.

_Get a hold of yourself, for God's sake,_ he thought to himself. It was the voice in his head that told always told him he was acting stupid and irrationally. This voice in Boomer's head also happened to sound like Butch's voice.

_How can I? I just basically found out my entire existence was a lie. I can't just get a hold of myself_ he thought, beginning to argue with himself, something he often did despite himself.

_Well, if you don't, Brisbaine's gonna find you and screw your brain up royally._

_But…_

_But what? You're too busy feeling so damn sorry for yourself you've forgotten why you escaped in the first place. The one thing that drove you to get out._

_Bubbles?_

_What else?_

_…well, what can I do now?_

_Think about it. Brick and Butch will wake up in the morning and find out your not there. In the morning, you can just go back and find them. I doubt Brisbaine will stay, since there's no way he could explain your sudden disappearance._

_But what am I supposed to do until then? I can't just sleep in the forest._

_No, Brisbaine will probably find you and do who knows what to you._

_So, where do I go? What do I do?_

_Well, first it might help if you stopped talking to yourself and actually do something. What are you? Hamlet?_

Boomer broke out of his trance-like state and stood up. He still had a blank look on his face, as he was trying to push down all his emotions. Boomer never was good at letting his emotions out, since it always seemed to him that whenever he did, bad things tended to happen.

Like today, for example.

"Well, I gotta go somewhere. Brisbaine is probably still back at the camp site, so I can't get Brick and Butch. But where can I g-"

Suddenly, an insane thought sprung into his head.

"No. No, I can't do that. That's just…crazy" he said to himself.

_As crazy as talking to yourself? Besides, where else can you go?_

_Even if I was going to go there, which I'm not, I don't know how to get there._

_Ask directions. You don't really have much of a choice._

Boomer sighed.

Boomer flew into the sky, looking down. A few miles away he could see lights from Megacity. Boomer looked behind himself to make sure no one was watching him. He flew down towards the city, leaving a blue trail of light behind him.

He landed near a dumpster behind the _Nasty Burger_ restaurant. He dusted the dirt off himself and walked into the restaurant and looked around.

_Someone around here has got to know where it is_ he thought to himself. He looked around. There was some teenager with spiky hair sweeping the floor, muttering something to himself about a "box ghost."

_No, that's no good._

He looked around some more. There was some fat guy with a blond beard tearing into a very thick hamburger and some nachos.

_No, I don't think he'll know._

He looked over more of the tables. Most of them were occupied by adults. However, then he saw two kids in glasses at a booth, talking to one another. One kid had big, round glasses, and looked like he was balding, since he only had a little brown hair on his head. The other was a red haired person, who was wearing a lab coat for some reason. The red-head seemed to be depressed about something and the balding one was trying to ask him something. Boomer quietly approached them.

* * *

Dexter looked down at his French fries, suddenly losing his appetite.

"So, um…" began Otto. "How did it go with…you know…Mandark's parents?"

Dexter sighed.

"They were upset at me, to say the least. I don't really blame them"

Otto put his hand behind his head and scratched.

"It's not like you're the one who...I mean, it's not like it was your fault" said Otto, awkwardly.

"They seem to think differently" said Dexter, staring at the salt shaker on the table.

Otto put his hand on his shoulder.

"Hey…just…they'll get over it. It's just the shock. You should…you shouldn't beat yourself up about it."

"It's not really that easy. His sister doesn't' even know yet. Imagine how she'll feel when she hears it" said Dexter.

Otto tried to say something, but then noticed there was a blue-eyed, blond-haired boy standing next to their table, looking down at the floor. His clothes were torn and he had burn marks on his wrists. He wore a completely blank look on his face. He nudged Dexter and he looked at the boy. The boy didn't say anything.

"Can we…help you?" said Otto.

The boy hesitated for a moment.

"Are you okay?" said Dexter.

"I'm…looking for some place" said the boy, without making eye contact.

"Well, I'll be happy to help. Where are you trying to go?"

The boy paused, then spoke.

"Do…do you know where I could find the Powerpuff Girls?" said Boomer.


	5. Too Early Seen Unknown

"Do…do you know where I could find the Powerpuff Girls?" said Boomer.

Dexter's eyes widened as he straightened up in the booth. Otto glanced over to Dexter, unsure of what to say.

Boomer still looked at the floor.

"…There's not a lot of time now. Do you know where they are?" he asked.

Dexter straightened his glasses on his face.

"Yes. But what do you want to see them for? I'm sorry to ask but recent events have made me feel a little…cautious about who I give that information to" said Dexter, looking Boomer up and down.

"…I need their help. I'd rather not say more than that" said Boomer, resting his left hand on his burnt right wrist. Boomer paused, then glanced up to see Otto staring at him curiously.

"…um…why are you staring at me?" asked Boomer, nervously.

Dexter nudged Otto.

"Don't stare at his wounds. It's rude" he whispered.

"No no, it's not that" he said, then turned back towards Boomer. "Do I…know you from somewhere?"

Boomer glanced up at Otto.

"Unlikely"

Otto stared at him for another moment, then gasped. He pointed at him.

"Y-You were with those crazy fellas that attacked the Girls at the playground today!" he said.

"He what!" said Dexter, surprised.

"You weren't there, so you wouldn't know. A couple kids attacked the Girls today at school. I only saw it from the window, but it was pretty weird. The Girls wouldn't talk about it the rest of the day for some reason. There was-"

Dexter stood up in his seat and grabbed Boomer by the collar.

"You little punk! How dare you mess with my friends? And then try to trick me into telling you where they live? Why I should-"

Boomer looked down at the floor as Dexter shook him by the collar. Otto appeared to be deep in thought.

"Wait a minute…I remember something else." said Otto.

Dexter looked back at him, listening.

"That kid" began Otto, pointing at Boomer. "That kid was there…but he wouldn't throw a punch at the girls. The other guys were trying to wail on him, but…he just stood there. Then it looked like he turned on one of the other guys, talked for a little while and then…just left. And then it was over. That was what was so weird about it."

Dexter paused for a moment, in deep thought

"So…he didn't actually…hurt them?" asked Dexter.

Otto thought for a moment.

"No. Not him."

Dexter looked down, then looked back at Boomer, who glanced up at him. Dexter let go of his collar, turned away from him and folded his arms, in deep thought. After a moment's deliberation, he turned back, got close to him, and looked at him straight in the eyes. Boomer felt very uneasy.

"Why didn't you attack them before?" asked Dexter, not breaking eye contact and not showing any specific emotion.

Boomer, very nervous from being forced to make direct eye contact, replied.

"I…I have my reasons." Boomer hoped his face was not turning red.

"Why do you want to meet them now?"

"…I don't want to ambush them, if that's what you mean."

" And why should I trust you?"

"You probably shouldn't, but I'm telling you the truth" said Boomer, honestly.

Dexter stared at him a moment longer. Boomer was now incredibly uncomfortable.

"How…long are you gonna be this close to my face?" asked Boomer.

Dexter closed his eyes then turned to Otto.

"I think we should hear him out"

"Really?" said Otto, surprised.

"Yes. We should at least hear what he has to say"

"But…but he was with…those other guys…"

Dexter pointed his thumb back at Boomer.

"Just look at him. He's obviously been through something rough, so he probably doesn't have the strength to attack them now; it wouldn't make sense. Besides…he doesn't really look the 'ambush' type."

Boomer didn't know whether he should feel exalted or offended by that remark.

Dexter turned back to him.

"Alright. I think you should tell us everything. Then I might take you there."

"I'd…rather not talk about it" said Boomer.

"If you wanna go there, I need to know what's going on. I need to make sure your intentions are genuine."

Boomer glanced up at him.

"Who are you?"

Dexter extended his hand.

"Dexter, boy genius. And this other fellow is my good friend, Otto."

"Yo" said Otto, from behind.

"Boomer"

Boomer looked down at his hand, since he was unfamiliar with the custom of shaking it. After all, most of his life had been spend in a lab running training exercises. And his memories of his past life, fake or not, were only that of destruction.

"Um..what do I do here?" said Boomer.

Dexter raised an eyebrow and lowered his hand.

"You don't get out much, do you?"

Boomer looked down, embarrassed.

"Well, never mind that now. Time to talk. Now, why don't you start from the beginning?"

* * *

"This would be so much easier if I had just brought a map" said Weasel, flying through the night sky in his helicopter.

He was currently trying to operate his laptop while piloting it, which was proving to be quite an ordeal. He typed with his right hand on the laptop, pulling up a geographical navigation program. He fumbled the laptop on his lap, causing his left hand on the controls to move, veering the chopper to the left. He quickly regained balance and continued typing.

"Alright, since the Boys were heading for Megaville, all I have to do is input the coordinates…now I just triangulate my current location, and…" He typed some more. "Alright. So, I should head…northeast for another 42 miles."

Weasel turned the controls right slightly and headed towards his desired location.

"I'm gonna get to the bottom of this, if it's the last thing I do."

* * *

"She's still in our room?" asked Blossom.

"Yes. She's been there for quite some time. What happened to you girls today anyway?" asked Professor Utonium, while preparing a late dinner.

Buttercup groaned from her seat at the table.

"What DIDN'T happen today?" said Buttercup.

"It's…complicated" said Blossom.

"Well…maybe Bubble's will feel alright when she comes down for dinner" said the Professor.

"Maybe" said Blossom, not sure of how Bubbles would feel.

They heard a crashing sound outside.

"What was that?" said Buttercup, on alert.

Blossom looked out the window.

"Calm down. It's just the Megas. Hey! Dexter's back!" she said.

Buttercup waved her finger in the air.

"Whoop dee doo" she said, sarcastically.

"Do you always have to be such a pessimist?" said Blossom, annoyed.

"I am not a pessimist!" said Buttercup, although she wasn't sure exactly what a pessimist was.

Blossom continued to look out the window.

"Coops with him, of course. Looks like Otto is too. And…who is that?"

Buttercup raised an eyebrow.

"What was that?"

"I don't know I can't see, but it looks like he's brought someone else. Wait, they're coming to the door" said Blossom, beginning to walk to the door. The doorbell rang out.

Blossom opened the door and saw Dexter.

"Hi!" said Blossom.

Dexter smiled. Otto waved from behind him. Coop was behind him, cheerfully muttering something about "smelling dinner." However, she still could not get a good look at the other boy accompanying him.

"Hi. Listen, I'm glad to be back, but there's something we need to talk abou-"

Then Blossom got a clear look at the other member of Dexter's party.

"AH! What is he doing here!" shouted Blossom.

Buttercup got up from the kitchen and flew to the door.

"Hey, what's all the yelling abou-" said Buttercup, before she saw Boomer.

Boomer moved slowly to the doorway, not looking directly at the girls.

"Um…hello" he said, quietly.

Buttercup remained silent for a moment. Dexter continued to talk.

"Listen, we need to talk, because something ver-"

That was all Dexter got out before Buttercup zoomed up and punched Boomer in the face. He flew back onto the walkway. Otto gasped. Boomer laid on the ground for a minute before slowly getting up.

"You gotta a lot a nerve to bring your self-over here!" said Buttercup, charging green energy in her hands.

Dexter stepped in front of her, putting his hands up.

"Whoa whoa! Listen, I can explain everything!"

Buttercup, however, was inconsolable at the moment.

"You can explain after I'm through with him! You don't know what we've been through because of him! Especially Bub-"

A small voice came from behind everyone.

"Hey, what's all the noise coming from down her-" said Bubbles, coming down the stairs. She walked down slowly, carrying the purple dog Courage in her arms. She looked through the doorway and saw Boomer, lying on the ground outside. She stopped her decent down the stairs and remained still.

Boomer was just getting up when he saw her, and also froze in his place. Everyone else remained silent for a moment, and nobody moved an inch for almost a minute.

"Dinner's ready! Everybody get-what in the world?" said the Professor, stepping near the doorway to see the event taking place.

A thunderous silence loomed over them, until Coop broke it, in a somewhat inappropriate manner.

"Um…well…so…are we…gonna eat or not?" said Coop, confused.


	6. I Beg for Justice

Weasel descended the chopper on the far outskirts of Megacity. He carefully landed in a secluded space, near a forest area. After he successfully landed, he sat back in the cockpit chair, pondering.

_Alright, I'm here. I need to find out what happened to Boomer_ he thought. _Needless to say, Brisbaine is not gonna hand that information on a silver platter. There's only one way to get the information I need._

Weasel reached for his laptop and executed some commands to pull up a not-quite-legal PC hacking program, commonly used by the government to secretly access the computers of suspected terrorists, people leaking government secrets, and journalists who know too much. At the present time, Weasel was attempting to access Brisbaine's computer. Weasel put in Brisbaine's IP address, but all he got was a message that said "RESTRICTED ACCESS. PASSWORD REQUIRED"

Weasel had anticipated this, since he knew Brisbaine wasn't stupid. However, Weasel was a genius, and he knew he could find a way around Brisbaine's defenses.

All he needed was a little time…

* * *

"Um…well…so…are we…gonna eat or not?" said Coop, confused.

Everyone continued to remained silent for another moment. Then, Boomer stood up, slowly. He looked beyond the doorway at Bubble, who appeared shocked. Boomer gulped then tried to speak.

"I…" he began, before Bubbles ran back up to the Girl's room, shutting the door. Boomer stared at the door for a moment then hung his head down. Everyone else looked up at the door Bubbles had shut, then looked back at Boomer.

Buttercup, who was so angry her face was turning red, began to yell.

"You're a dead man!" she shouted at Boomer, beginning to walk towards Boomer, her hand balled up into a fist. However, Dexter got in front of her and tried to get her to calm down, with little effect.

As Dexter was doing this, Blossom began to stare at Otto and him.

"What are you two doing with HIM?" she said, stunned.

"Listen, its kinda complicated" said Dexter, turning to her while still trying to keep Buttercup at bay.

"More like really, really complicated" said Otto, who, unlike Dexter, was doing his best to avoid anywhere close to Buttercup.

The Professor scratched his head.

"Umm…did I…miss something?" he said.

Coop attempted to calm everyone down.

"Listen, listen. Maybe we should all just sit down and…"

They all yelled each other, confused and astounded at one another. Boomer, however, remained silent, still staring at the door Bubble's had shut. He dropped down to his knees.

_Why…why did I even come here?_ He thought to himself.

"WHY DID I EVEN COME HERE?" he yelled out, not even realized he had spoken until he heard the yelling stop, and felt all the eyes looking at him.

Once again, they all paused. This time, the Professor was the one to break the silence

"Um…well…I think its time someone told me what was going on here."

* * *

"I just don't know" said Bubbles, while sitting on her part of the bed, becoming very confused and conflicted. "I mean, he's bad. Well, he _was_ bad. But he's still with them, so doesn't that still make him bad? But he didn't seem bad then, cause he said…all…that stuff..."

Bubbles paused, reflecting on the events earlier in the day, then continued.

"...and all that didn't make him seem like a bad guy, but he seemed to feel bad, and now my sisters seem to feel bad, but I don't even know how I'm supposed to feel, so is that bad or is it not bad? What do you think?"

Bubbles looked over to the purple dog, Courage, who could only stare blankly at her and shrug.

_I didn't think it was possible to use that many 'bads' so close together like that_ thought Courage, beginning to be seriously worried about Bubbles; she'd been like this ever since she came home.

"I'm just so confused. I thought I was alright, then I come down and he's here…I guess I just kinda…froze. And just left him there. I think I might have hurt his feelings. Does that make _me_ bad? I mean, if he is, and I'm not, but what if he isn't, and I am. Maybe he's not bad, but I wasn't but now I am, then how…" Bubbles took a deep breath. "I think I just gave myself a headache."

She paused and listened to the others yelling downstairs, then she heard Boomer shouting "WHY DID I EVEN COME HERE?"

Bubbles looked down, and started to feel ashamed of herself.

_I guess I did hurt his feelings_ she thought to herself. Bubbles never liked to hurt anyone's feelings. The question of whether Boomer was bad or not was momentarily out of her mind. All that mattered to her now was that she hurt someone else's feelings, which she thought was the worst thing you could do to someone. In Bubble's mind, she was now defiantly the bad one.

Courage sensed she felt bad and crawled over to her. He laid down next to her. Bubbles stroked his fur.

_This isn't right_ she thought to herself.

"I have to do something" she said.

* * *

Weasel looked at computer, frustrated. He had underestimated Brisbaine's computer defenses. Right now, his screen was blue, with an unsettling message on it.

"ACCESS DENIED! UNAUTHORIZED USERS WILL BE LOCATED AND DETAINED! END OF LINE."

_Dammit…this is harder than I thought_ said Weasel, rapidly typing in code, trying to find a 'backdoor' into Brisbaine's computer. As he typed, another message appeared onscreen.

"ACCESS DENIED! SECURITY ALERT IMMINANT! END OF LINE."

_Come on…I'm so close._ He typed in some more commands.

"PREPARING FULL ALERT IN T-10"

_So…close._ Weasel was beginning to sweat. He tried to type much faster.

"9…8…"

_Alright, I think I've got it._

"7…6…"

_Here goes something._ He pressed Enter.

The screen flashed for a moment.

"ACCESS GRANTED. HAVE A NICE DAY, SIR. END OF LINE."

Weasel smirked to himself.

_Alright…this is good_ he thought to himself _. I don't have complete access, but I should be able to find something…I hope._

Weasel attempted to look through Brisbaine's documents, but most required a password. Weasel didn't bother to look in the ROWDYRUFF files, since he knew Brisbaine was not dumb enough to leave that unprotected. However, thanks to the hacking program, he was able to get into some of Brisbaine's email records. Unfortunately, the data did not indicate who the emails were sent to. Weasel began to read, hoping to finally get some answers.

* * *

SENT ITEMS

From: Dr. John Brisbaine  
To: (CLASSIFIED)

Subject: PROJECT ROWDY Update

The operation is proceeding nicely. The Rowdyruff DNA was covertly retrieved from Townsville, however, the Chemical X necessary to clone them is proving hard to come by. One of our agents has been sent to retrieve some from the black market. I take great comfort in the fact that, after the final phase of PROJECT ROWDY, we will no longer have to worry about such complicated measures to produce Chemical X.

As commanded, I propositioned the renowned scientist Weasel to become a part of our project. Of course, matters of a higher level of understanding about the project remain unknown to him. He should help speed the process of the Project.

From: Dr. John Brisbaine  
To: (CLASSIFIED)

Subject: PROJECT ROWDY Update

We have obtained the necessary Chemical X, and are currently taking great measures to insure that, this time, we do not overdose the amount of Chemical X; we wouldn't want another disaster like PROJECT BUNNY to occur. The DNA seems well preserved, aside from some minor erosion that I don't believe will harm the Project. Currently, we are trying to modify the DNA to eliminate the Rowdy's fatal weakness. If all goes as planned, the cloning should begin in the next four weeks.

From: Dr. John Brisbaine  
To: (CLASSIFIED)

Subject: PROJECT ROWDY Update

The cloning process has begun as scheduled. We have begun cloning the Main Children and the Emergency Backups. The cloning process should be fully completed in an estimated two months. No problems have been picked up from the DNA or Chemical X doses. Several of the scientists below me have begun to question the integrity of the project, however it is nothing serious; they have no way of knowing the true nature of PROJECT ROWDY.

* * *

Weasel began to wonder to himself

_True nature? Final Phase? Higher level of understanding? I knew something was fishy about this…but what does it all mean?_

He read on.

* * *

From: Dr. John Brisbaine  
To: (CLASSIFIED)

Subject: PROJECT ROWDY Update

The cloning process is almost one hundred percent complete. However, I have noticed some strange gamma brain wave activity from the Third Child, Boomer. Momentarily, I considered to immediately switch to the Emergency Backup, but Weasel protested. I ultimately decided against it, since I would not want to make such a drastic change without consulting you. The foolish scientist doesn't suspect anything and I have demoted him so he would not cause further problems. I have decided to release the Third Child upon full maturation, since wasting so much Chemical X would be heresy, but I will makes sure to monitor his behavior closely.

The Emergency Backup of the Third Child does not exhibit the same brain wave phenomenon as the Main Child, however, he appears to have certain neurological anomalies, most notably linked to those with sadistic or sociopathic tendencies, which I believe could only double his efficiency, should we decide to use him.

The First and Second Children, Brick and Butch, do not currently exhibit any clear anomalies at this time. Their backups exhibit no problems, per se, but, if their brain waves are any indication, they are not nearly as advanced as their counterparts. I assure you, this is only the result of an accelerated maturation project in an effort to prematurely prep Phase Three. I assure you this will not happen again.

Although I'm sure this Third Child development comes as a shock to us all, I do not believe this will become so severe as to threaten the nature of the Project."

From: Dr. John Brisbaine  
To: (CLASSIFIED)

Subject: PROJECT ROWDY- Phase One Complete

The Boys were released from the development chambers today. They are currently adjusting to their environment. No clear anomalies detected in either child.

The Weasel has suggested a duel password system for activating the Emergency Backups, so I believe he no longer trusts my judgment. To avoid further suspicion, I agreed.

I'll update shortly to report any changes in the Boys' personalities.  
-

From: Dr. John Brisbaine  
To: (CLASSIFIED)

Subject: PROJECT ROWDY-Phase Two Update

The First Child, Brick, appears to spend a lot of time in deep thought, no doubt because of his memories, and beneath his collected exterior, seems to be hiding a massive amount of aggression. In other words, he is developing nicely.

The Second Child, Butch, makes no effort to hide his aggression, which he has in abundance. A great deal more sadistic than the other boys. Excellent development.

The Third Child, Boomer, however seems different, as I hypothesized. He exhibits antisocial, introverted traits, and often seems to drift wildly into his own thoughts. Also, when he's not in combat practice, he has taken to reading books far unusual considering his age, most notably Shakespeare and Poe works. My conclusion of his usefulness remains uncertain. I have decided to monitor him more closely.

Phase Two is nearing completion.

Phase Three has begun covertly. Final X is rising.

* * *

Weasel seemed quite disturbed about the last email.

_Aggression? Developing nicely? "Final X is rising?" What the hell is going on?_ he thought. He continued reading, realizing the emails were beginning to reflect events in the past few days. Weasel hoped he would finally get some answers about Boomer's behavior.

* * *

From: Dr. John Brisbaine  
To: (CLASSIFIED)

Subject: PROJECT ROWDY Update

I have prepared the final test for Phase Two: monitoring the Boys behavior free from the laboratory environment. I will report my data after the test.

From: Dr. John Brisbaine  
To: (CLASSIFIED)

Subject: Test Results

Test Complete. The Third Child failed miserably. The details of the test have been attached to this message. I will not have the child halt the progress of Phase Two. Measures are being taken to correct his mental anomalies. If the measures are unsuccessful, I will be forced to activate the Boomer's Emergency Backup; The Sixth Child of PROJECT ROWDYRUFF: Boomer-2 (Codename: BLANE).

* * *

Weasel opened the attachment on the last email. It chronicled the Boy's visit to the school, the fight, Boomer's refusal to fight, and his astonishing display of feelings. Weasel was shocked. Boomer had never exhibited such feelings at the base. Weasel's ambitions began to defer from finding out Brisbaine's motives to finding out what had happened to Boomer, because he knew whatever "measures" Brisbaine attempted to take were not good.

_I knew he did something to provoke him_ he thought. _This proves it…now if I only knew what he was going to do next…these reports give me little information I don't already know._

Weasel read the last email.

* * *

From: Dr. John Brisbaine  
To: (CLASSIFIED)

Subject: Handling Problems

The Third Child has gone rouge. The Sixth Child has been activated, and I have made sure his first task is to eliminate the original Boomer. In the morning, I will take measures to make sure his brothers do not interfere. If all goes as planned, they won't suspect a thing.

Once this is over, we can focus completely on Phase Three. And once Final X has arisen, the Final Phase will be within our grasp.

The opposition shall crumble beneath our feet. The world shall fall and we shall rise from its ashes.  
(END OF FILE)

* * *

Weasel read the final line of the final email and leaned back in shock.

" _The world shall fall?"_ he though. _Damn…there's more to this than I ever thought. I need to make sure Boomer and the Boy's are okay…but I need to find out what he's planning. These reports tell me nothing._

Weasel searched through Brisbaine's files, desperate to find more information, but everything else that seemed of importance was password protected. He was about to give up, when he noticed there was a document in the computer's Recycle Bin. Weasel looked into the Recycle Bin to find one single file.

A video file.

Weasel watched the video in its entirety. Once it was finished, he immediately activated the helicopter.

_My God…this explains it. I need to tell them! I need to tell them all, before its too late_ he thought to himself.

The helicopter propellers whirled and he began to rise above the forest. He headed out, hoping he wasn't too late.

* * *

Brisbaine looked at his computer, drumming his fingers against the dashboard of his truck. He looked at the message on his screen.

"SILENT ALERT ACTIVATED! UNAUTHORIZED USER! END OF LINE."

_I know it's you, Weasel_ he thought _. No matter what you find, I'll make sure you don't live long enough to tamper with the plans._

He looked over to the passenger's seat, looking at Boomer-2(Codename: BLAINE), sleeping in the seat next to him.

_Get your rest, little one. You'll have much to do tomorrow._


	7. I See Thou Know’st Me Not

"Um…well…I think its time someone told me what was going on here," said the Professor, honestly confused.

"If you'd just let us come in, I can explain all of this," said Dexter, still trying to keep a disgruntled Buttercup from recklessly attacking Boomer and anything unfortunate enough to be in Boomer's vicinity.

"Sure, you can explain everything, _after_ I'm done with him!" shouted Buttercup.

Blossom leaned against the doorway, thinking. Then, she glanced at Boomer, then at Dexter, then at Buttercup.

"Buttercup…maybe we should let them talk…" she said.

Buttercup stopped thrashing and turned to her sister in disbelief.

"What? What! After what he did!" said Buttercup.

"Well…if Otto and Dexter thinks he's alright…maybe-"

"Oh, _excuse me_ for putting the feelings of my sister before those of some four-eyed, stuck-up, jerks!"

Otto made a dejected look on his face. Dexter cleared his throat.

"You know…we _are_ standing right here" said Dexter.

"You stay out of this!" shouted Buttercup.

Blossom pointed over to Boomer, who was still kneeled down on the ground after making his outburst, his eyes slightly watering. The burns on his wrists were clearly visible, as were the scratches on his body and clothing. His eyes stared at the ground, non-blinking, almost as if he was in a trance.

"Just look at him. Does that look like someone who's trying to ambush us?"

Buttercup glanced over at him, then looked back over to her.

"But…he…Bubbles…them…evil…"

"Let's just hear him out. If he tries anything, it's not like he'd be able to overpower us. What's the harm in just listening to them?"

"Exactly," said Dexter, nodding.

"Am I the only one with any sense around here? Am I the only one who has any thought for how Bubbles would feel about this?" said Buttercup.

Then, Buttercup heard something. Even with her enhanced hearing, it was barely a whisper, but she could still make out what the message was, and more importantly, who it was from. She glanced over to Blossom, who didn't appear to have heard it. Buttercup closed her eyes, pondering.

"This is nuts…" she muttered, but then spoke up. "Alright…but if he makes one false move, just one…" She balled up her right fist and punched into her left hand.

"Alright then," said the Professor. "Now, let's all come inside and sit at the table. Then maybe someone can please enlighten me."

"Alright, cool," said Coop, who was the first one to come inside and walk towards the dinner table. Otto followed suit. Buttercup muttered something very un-ladylike her breath and walked inside.

Dexter went over to Boomer, who didn't look up. Dexter tried to nudge him, but he didn't seem to respond. Dexter then resorted to carefully raising him up by the arm and guiding him inside. Blossom remained in the doorway and spoke to Dexter as Boomer and he passed.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked Dexter.

"Just trust me on this," he said. They walked inside.

* * *

From upstairs, Bubble was able to hear the conflict below clearly. She already knew what had to be done.

Downstairs, she heard Buttercup shout, "Am I the only one with any sense around here?"

Bubbles walked over to the bedroom door and sat down against it. Buttercup continued to shout.

"Am I the only one who has any thought for how Bubbles would feel about this?" she shouted below.

Bubbles put her hand against the side of her mouth, like people do when they whisper something in someone else's ear. She got her mouth close to the door.

"Let him in. I'll be okay. It's the right thing to do," she whispered softly.

She heard silence from Buttercup down below, which Bubble's took to mean she heard her message. Then, she heard Buttercup say,

"Alright…but if he makes one false move, just one…"

Bubbles leaned against the door and sighed.

_This is not going to be easy_ she thought to herself.

She went back over to Courage and pet him, while she tried to prepare herself for what awaited her downstairs.

* * *

Boomer remained in a trance-like state as Dexter lead him into the house. Boomer honestly didn't know what to do. Inside his head, he was arguing with himself.

_Great…I should have known this would happen. Now I've made_ her _upset; the one person I've never wanted to upset. I'm a sad excuse for a human being._

Then he remembered that, technically speaking, he _wasn't_ a human being.

_Brisbaine was right. I'm nothing but a mistake._

Another voice inside his head spoke out.

_The problem with you is that you spend so much time feeling sorry for yourself that you never actually do anything to fix your problems. You revel in your despair, much like a pig revels in dirt._

_You're right…I'm nothing but a swine._

_Listen, forget about all that for a minute. You came here for a reason. Now, are you gonna stand there like a dummy the whole time you're here, or are you actually going to do something?_

… _but…she…_

_First you have to talk to them, or coming here was meaningless. Once that's done, you need to talk to her._

_But…I'm not really good at talking._

_Tough. It's the only way._

_…I know._

_Of course you know. I'm you. If you didn't know, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Now snap out of it._

Boomer blinked and shook his head, bringing his attention back to reality. Everyone was sitting down at the dining table. There was steak, peas, and other foodstuffs on the table. Most people there didn't seem to feel like eating, except Coop, who had a full plate. Buttercup was staring directly at him, her eyes full of distrust. The Professor was preparing the rest of the table.

He shook his arm, indicating to Dexter to release his grip.

"You alright?" whispered Dexter.

Boomer paused, seeming as if he would not say anything. However, after a moment, he did whisper back.

"I haven't been 'alright' for a while"

Dexter and Boomer sat down. There was one empty seat left, next to Boomer. Boomer sighed.

_This is not going to be easy_ he thought, preparing himself for the Inquisition that was about to take place.

* * *

Brisbaine stepped outside of his truck and looked up. In the distance, he could hear the sound of a propeller. However, it was dark so he was unable to see where it was. But, Brisbaine himself did not need to see what was going on to do what he was about to do.

_Hunting season has just begun, Weasel. And you're the game,_ he thought.

Brisbaine walked over to the passenger's side door and opened it, revealing the resting body of Boomer's backup; the creature who's codename was Blaine. Brisbaine nudged him. He stirred, then opened his eyes.

"Good morning, Blaine," said Brisbaine.

Blaine looked up at him. His appearance was exactly like Boomer's, but his expression was completely unlike the original. He had a big smile on his face.

"Is it time to kill Brother now?" asked Blaine, in a cheerful voice.

"Not yet, child. I have a very important thing for you to do first," said Brisbaine, smirking.

Blaine leaned back in the chair, now frowning.

"Aww…you promised I would get to kill Brother…"

"In time, in time. Right now I have something else for you to do."

Blaine jumped out of the passenger's seat, putting his hands behind his head.

"So, what do you wish me to do, old man?" he said, cheerfully.

Brisbaine pointed out towards the night sky, in the direction the propellers were coming from.

"Do you see a helicopter out there?" he asked. Brisbaine knew the Boys eyesight was much superior to those of normal humans, so it Blaine should have been able to spot the chopper with ease.

Blaine put his hand above his eyes and looked out.

"Yes, I see it."

Brisbaine smiled to himself.

"Get rid of it" he said.

"With pleasure!" said Blaine, excited.

Blaine held his right hand out, then pointed his index finger out, like it were a gun. Blue sparks began to come from finger. The sparks got brighter and brighter. Once it was bright enough, the energy was released from his finger into a bright blue beam, making a loud "bam" sound. The beam went far off into the distance. Then, off in the distance, Brisbaine heard a loud explosion sound, as the sound of the propeller subsided.

Blaine turned back to Brisbaine, with his hand still pointed like a gun.

"Bang," he said, smiling to himself.

_Good bye, Weasel,_ thought Brisbaine. _You might say you were a great scientist. But in another, more accurate way, you were a thorn in my side I'm glad to be rid of._ Brisbaine put his hand on Blaine's shoulder.

"Good work, child. You're much more obedient than your brother. You, unlike him, are a good boy."

Blaine smirked, but his smirk subsided when he heard a voice from behind him.

"What the &#$# was that noise?" said a voice from inside a tent a short distance away from the truck cried. Brisbaine immediately recognized it as Butch's voice. There was rustling from inside the tent.

Brisbaine had anticipated this would happen. He leaned over to Blaine.

"Look down at the ground and don't talk. Avoid any eye contact with them. Let me do the talking," he whispered.

"Whatever you say, Pops" Blaine whispered back. He looked down at the ground and remained quiet as Brick and Butch exited the tent.

* * *

Butch looked over at the truck to see Brisbaine and who he thought was Boomer, and instantly made an angry face.

"Hey, what's all this about?" said Butch, walking over to them. Brick, who followed Butch, rubbed his eyes and yawned, looking over at 'Boomer.'

"Ah, Boys. Perfect timing," said Brisbaine, clearing his face of all emotion.

"Sir. May I ask what the purpose of your appearance here is?" asked Brick, with respect.

"Yeah, and what was that noise?" said Butch. He paused for a moment, then added "I mean, what was that noise, sir?"

Brick looked over at Boomer, trying to see if he was feeling better from earlier in the day. He didn't seem distressed, which Brick thought was odd.

Brisbaine adjusted his glasses.

"The noise was Boomer here displaying his energy output for me. I decided it was necessary to test him for any irregularities," he said.

Butch glared at Boomer, then began to rant.

"Oh, I'll tell you all about his 'irregularities.' This little prick here has been-"

Brick, however cut him off. However, as he spoke to Brisbaine, he was still glancing over at Boomer.

"Sir. Boomer has just been feeling…not well, and acting irregular. It is nothing serious," said Brick, looking Boomer up and down. Brick didn't know exactly why he was. Boomer was just standing there, looking at the ground like always, smirking, thinking about something with little connection to reality.

_…hey, wait a minute_ , thought Brick, finally realizing what he thought was unsettling about Boomer.

Butch, however, didn't seem to notice this, which didn't surprise Brick. Butch spoke out loud.

"'Nothing serious' My ass," said Butch, rolling his eyes, then glaring back in Boomer's general direction.

Brisbaine continued.

"I'd appreciate it if you watched your language in my presence, Butch. I am well aware of what occurred earlier today, and let's just say Boomer has since rethought his…opinions."

Brick raised another eyebrow at this statement.

"In any case," continued Brisbaine, "that is not important right now. I have a mission for you two."

_Us…two?_ thought Brick.

"Sir," began Brick. "what do you mean by 'us two?' Won't Boomer be with us?"

"I'm afraid not. I have some tests to perform on him. Just as a precaution, of course" said Brisbaine.

Butch, still being spiteful, muttered to himself.

"I hope he sticks an iron probe right up your…"

"As I was saying," said Brisbaine. "You two must perform a mission for me. Nothing serious. There is a small, Earth spaceship destroyed a distance away from Earth. The government requires that spaceship's remnants. Since you Boys are capable of surviving in space, you two are to retrieve those remnants, and, if possible, retrieve the pilot. However, the chances of her being alive are slim."

"When do we have to leave, sir?" asked Brick, trying to hide his suspicion.

"As soon as possible. You will have ten minutes to get ready. For any spaceship here, it would take years to get there. But, for you Boys, it shouldn't take more than a day or two."

Butch folded his arms.

"Great...two days of this boring job," he muttered.

"Alright, you have your orders. Get ready and be ready in ten minutes," said Brisbaine.

"Yes sir," said Brick and Butch.

Butch walked back in the tent to get ready. Brick walked over to the tent, then took one last look at 'Boomer.'

_This isn't right,_ he thought.

* * *

Butch was muttering to himself, almost completely ready to leave when Brick entered the tent. Brick walked over to him.

"We need to talk," he said, in a low voice.

Butch turned around, glaring.

"I'm not really in the mood for another one of your ramblings about leadership and all that other bull-"

"It's not about that. Now keep your voice down" he said, glancing behind him, back to the tent entrance.

"What is _wrong_ with you?" said Butch. "You're acting almost as insane the little turd. Now would you just-"

"Don't you get it? Something is wrong with Boomer" said Brick,

Butch raised his eyebrow.

" _Duh._ There are a whole bunch of things wrong with him."

Brick got close to him, beginning to lose his temper.

"No, you idiot. I mean just now. Did you see him out there?"

Butch rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. He looked fine. So?"

Brick could not believe the depth of Butch's stupidity.

"Yeah, he looked fine. In fact, he was smiling. That's exactly what's strange!"

Butch arched his eyebrow again.

"I think you've lost it."

Brick grew more aggravated, having to force himself not to scream at Butch.

"Listen to me. In the whole time since we've been back, have you ever seen Boomer smile? At all?"

Butch opened his mouth to say something, then paused.

"I…how should I know?"

"Let me clue you in; he hasn't. Like, at all. Ever. But he was now. Doesn't that seem odd?"

"Why would you expect me to notice something like that about him?"

Brick looked at Butch, disgusted.

"Some brother _you_ are."

Butch glared angrily at him.

"Hey…you… _you_ …shut up!"

Brick continued talking as if he had not said anything.

"And don't you find it odd that Brisbaine just happens to show up here, but all he wants is Boomer's energy output? He's always been hard on Boomer. It just doesn't add up. Do you see?"

"I think you're paranoid," said Butch.

Brick glared at him.

"You don't even care, do you? How can you live with yourself? He's our brother!"

"He's nothing to me!" snapped Butch. "If he can fall in love with one of them, he obviously doesn't care about us! They murdered us and he has feelings for one of them. And you think I'm the selfish one? Go to hell!"

Brick narrowed his eyes back at him. For the first time since he had be brought back, Brick completely lost his cool composure.

"I'm not condoning what he did, but how can you possibly stand by and do nothing! Something is wrong with him, and you're standing by, watching it happen! You just shove off any feelings for him just because he does something to piss you off? You're a sad excuse for a human being and you're a sad excuse for a brother! One day you're gonna look back and regret this, and you'll have no one to blame but yourself!"

They looked at each other, unable to say anything else. The rest is silence.

Several minutes later, Brisbaine yelled from outside.

"Boys! Your time to depart is now. Quickly, time is of the essence."

Butch looked over at Brick.

"We have to go," said Butch, without emotion.

Brick glared at him. Butch continued speaking.

"You're paranoid, just like I said. We have to go. There's no other option. There's nothing wrong."

"It must be nice to be blind," said Brick.

Brick walked out of the tent, trying to regain his poker face.

Butch looked down, and thought about all the things Brick said. He pondered for a few moments, then began to walk out the tent.

"Dammit," he said, before walking out.

* * *

"You have your orders and the coordinates of the craft," said Brisbaine, as both of the Boys lined up in front of him. "You are to depart now. That is all."

They remained silent for a moment.

"I said, that is all."

"Yes, sir," they both said. They ascended from the ground and flew upwards into the night sky.

_Yes...this foolish mission should keep you two busy just long enough for all my problems to be eliminated,_ said Brisbaine.

Brisbaine waited until they were out of sight before turning to Blaine.

"Okay, you can drop the act now."

Blaine looked up, smiling.

"Do I get to kill Brother now?"

Brisbaine adjusted his glasses.

"Patience, child. First, I must find out where he is. Not to mention…tie up a few loose ends"

Brisbaine pulled out his laptop and pulled up the PROJECT ROWDY- EMERGENCY BACKUPS program. He went over to the icons of Butch and Brick, clicking on them. He entered the password, then closed his laptop and walked over to the truck. Blaine followed, curious.

In the back of the truck, two more tubes filled with water appeared. Inside them were the naked Emergency Backups of Brick and Butch. Blaine eyed them, with interest.

"Are these my Brothers, too?" he asked.

"Yes, but these two are not nearly as advanced as the original Brick and Butch. Not like you. These two are just poor imitations; mere shells. But…they will serve."

The tubes opened and the water pooled upon the floor. They both stepped out of the tube.

Brisbaine adjusted his glasses. He pointed over at the backup of Brick(Codename: BLITZ).

"You! I want you to scout the city and bring me the location of the original Boomer. Report back to me at once. Do not try to detain him yourself."

Then, he pointed over to the backup of Butch (CODENAME: BARRACK).

"You! I want you to find the remnants of a helicopter around the area. If you see a Weasel in the vicinity, you are to destroy him immediately."

They both saluted Brisbaine.

"Yes sir" they said, in unison.

"And make sure to clothe yourselves. That is all. Dismissed."

* * *

Brick and Butch were just leaving the atmosphere, when Brick tried to speak again.

"Butch, there-"

"Shut up. I know what I'm doing," replied Butch, with malice.

Brick paused, then continued.

"Just so you know, I seriously believe you will go to hell now."

Butch looked away from him and continued upward.

_I know what I'm doing,_ he assured himself.

* * *

The ruins of the helicopter were scattered throughout the forest. Part of the wreckage was still aflame. For a long time, there was no movement.

Then, from beneath the rubble, Weasel crawled out, with a terrible gash on his left arm and scratches all over his body, but alive. He was clutching his laptop with dear life. Remarkably, it incurred no serious damage.

_I have to…find them…everything…depends on it,_ Weasel thought to himself.

Everything _depends on it._


	8. Feasting With Mine Enemy

Boomer looked out at the table. It was filled with food, but Boomer didn't feel like eating. Nobody else seemed interested in eating either, aside from Coop, who was digging into his steak. Boomer looked out and saw that every eye was on him, which made him very nervous. He glanced to his right at the empty seat right next to him. Knowing who would sit in that seat made him even more nervous.

Boomer tried to start talking, but he didn't know where to begin. He didn't know how he could convey how he was feeling.

He looked into all their eyes. Buttercup was glaring at him, with the kind of look that was usually followed by a phrase like, "Go ahead, make my day," or, "Turn thee, Benvolio, and look upon thy death." Blossom was looking right at him, not displaying any clear emotion, as if she was reserving judgment based on what he said; Professor Utonium's expression was almost identical to Blossom's. Coop looked over at Boomer while he chewed, showing he was interested in what Boomer had to say, despite giving into his gluttonous habits while doing so. Otto and Dexter looked at Boomer with sympathetic eyes, for Boomer was forced to tell them his story before they arrived; although, even they did not know the entire story, for Boomer could not bring himself to tell them exactly what he had said at the playground.

Boomer looked at them, and they looked at Boomer. Boomer tried to speak, but then he felt as if he was being watched from behind. He knew who it was, but did not dare turn around to look at her; he could not bring himself to look at her if he had caused her turmoil in his actions.

Boomer realized his hand was shaking, but was not able to control it. He gulped, then tried to speak.

"I…I'm…" He stopped, took a deep breath, then tried again.

"I'm…sorry. For…for any trouble I've caused, I-I'm sorry."

For a moment, nobody said anything, except Buttercup, who quietly muttered something while rolling her eyes.

Boomer looked down at the plate on the table, ashamed of himself. He thought about what he said at the playground, and tried to imagine all the trouble he caused Bubbles, and everyone else. As he thought, suddenly all his fears, anxieties, and sorrows from the events of today exploded in his mind. His eyes began to burn and his vision started to blur. His whole body began to shake. Then, despite his best efforts, tears dripped from his eyes onto his empty plate.

He didn't look up, because he knew they were all staring at him. He couldn't help it. He didn't know what to do. All he could do was cry. He felt a sob in his throat, but he didn't dare open his mouth to let it out; it would only further his disgrace. He had never felt more pitiful in his entire life.

He didn't know what to do.

* * *

Bubbles sat behind the wall to the left of the doorway to the dining room, so no one in the dining room would be able to see her. She carefully leaned her head out from behind the doorway, to get a glimpse of what was going on inside.

She could see everyone's face at the dining table, except Boomer's, since his back was facing the doorway. They all looked at Boomer, staring at him, watching his every move.

She heard Boomer struggle to speak from inside.

"I…I'm…" he said, clearly a nervous wreck. She heard him take loud, deep breaths.

Bubbles pulled her head back behind the wall and looked down.

_I feel terrible_ she thought. _Not only did I hurt his feelings, but now he being stared at like he's a…a green bug or something. I have to get in there and…do…something. Anything._

Bubbles knew she had to get in there, but was having a hard time getting the nerve to do so. Aside from the incident at the playground, which made talking to him awkward, she had also clearly hurt his feelings. She didn't know how she could talk to him after doing such a thing to him, and part of her was afraid trying to talk to him might only make him feel worse. She felt like a coward.

Then, as she was lost in thought, she heard the voice of Boomer from the doorway.

"I'm…sorry."

Bubbles looked up, in shock. He listened closely as he continued.

"For…for any trouble I've caused, I-I'm sorry," he said.

Bubbles leaned her head over the wall to look into the dining room again. She saw Boomer, with his head down near his plate. She immediately noticed that his whole body was shaking. Bubbles had cried enough times to know what the subtle shaking meant. She felt even worse, and for a moment, thought about crying herself. However, she straightened up, resisting the urge.

Bubbles could not put off going in there any longer. This boy was crying and she knew she was partially responsible for it. It did not matter if he was bad or not, all she knew was she had to help him and take responsibility for her actions.

She stood up.

* * *

Regardless of how hard he tried, he could not stop crying. The tears continued to run down his face. He still kept his mouth closed, never allowing himself to sob. He could only imagine the looks on the faces of everyone staring at him.

_I'm in hell,_ he thought to himself. He could not stop crying, but he could not leave. He was at a loss. Once again, Boomer felt himself totally helpless; yet another instance where Boomer could not control anything, no matter how much he tried. Boomer wanted to crawl under a rock and die.

Then, he felt something on his right shoulder. It came down upon his shoulder slowly, as if it was hesitant, and then spread out over it. He realized it was a hand as the fingers gently gripped him.

Boomer's heart jolted. He wiped the tears from his eyes and tilted his head to the right, to confirm who it was. He looked and saw Bubbles, standing over him with her hand placed on his shoulder. Boomer's eyes widened with disbelief. Her expression was a mix of sympathy and apprehension.

She didn't say a word; she just looked right in his eyes and rubbed his shoulder. For a moment, she looked like she was about to say something, but didn't.

Boomer could not belief this was happening. He stood there staring, unconscious of the fact he was no longer crying. For a moment at least, Boomer forgot he was being stared at by everyone in the room. He was still shaking, but now because of being so close to Bubbles; being _touched_ by Bubbles. Boomer, before today, imagined that if Bubbles had ever touched, he become so nervous he would have a massive heart attack; but, under these circumstances, although he was still nervous, he clearly felt much calmer than he had several moments before.

Finally, Bubbles said something.

"It's okay" she said. She slid her hand off Boomer's shoulder and sat down in the chair next to him.

Boomer was in shock.

_My God…after all the trouble I've caused her…she still helps me,_ thought Boomer. _She's a angel...maybe if she did that for me, maybe she…_

He didn't allow himself to finish his thought.

_No…I can't get my hopes up, especially with crazy thoughts like that._

Boomer turned back to the other people at the table. They all were silent, with blank, surprised looks on their faces. Even Coop had stopped eating for the moment. Except for the other Girls, everyone also had a clear amount of confusion shown on their faces.

Boomer took a deep breath and exhaled, now that his soul seemed to have grown stronger. He glanced quickly back at Bubbles, who seemed to be in deep thought about something, maintaining that same expression on her face. Then, he looked back out to everyone else.

Dexter, who looked more concerned than anyone else, was the first to speak up.

"Um…you...um…you okay?" he said, while adjusting his glasses.

Boomer nodded, unsmiling, since he was still a little hesitant.

"You sure?" asked Otto, who also looked worried about Boomer.

Boomer nodded again.

The Professor cleared his throat.

"Young man," said the Professor, cautiously. "If you feel uncomfortable, you could always-"

"Leave. You could always do that," interjected Buttercup. However, Bubbles made an expression that made Buttercup fall silent.

Boomer then knew he had to speak. He gathered his strength.

"It's okay," he whispered to himself.

Boomer took one final deep breath, then finally began to speak.

"W-what I'm about to tell you is…is very serious…and I'm not really sure how to tell you all this," said Boomer.

"Tell what?" asked Blossom, curious.

"There is a person who could pose a threat to you all. A...a very serious one. Someone I believe is conspiring against you and…someone I hope you can help…protect me from," admitted Boomer.

Buttercup raised an eyebrow. Everyone leaned forward in anticipation.

"He's a man named B-Brisbaine. Doctor Brisbaine," said Boomer.

The Professor looked taken aback by what Boomer said.

"Did you say Brisbaine? John Brisbaine?" asked the Professor.

Everyone turned towards him.

"You know him?" asked Dexter.

The Professor nodded.

"In a manner of speaking. I met him briefly when I attended college. Unfortunatly, my memory is fuzzy about that particular time, ever since my college roommate, Professor Dick, tampered with a memory helmet experiment I conducted, making me forget a lot about that year, most of my memories of seventh grade, the ending of Raiders of the Lost Ark, and how to whistle. But, I digress...I seem to remember he was studying genetics at the time."

Dexter turned back to Boomer.

"Do you think it's the same guy?"

"There's really n-no way of knowing for sure," said Boomer.

The Professor scratched his head.

"I remember…he was a rather…unemotional man. Seemed rather cold," said the Professor, continuing to reminisce.

Boomer paused for a moment.

"Yeah, that's him alright," he said.

Buttercup folded her arms and leaned back in her chair.

"So? How much of a threat can a doctor be anyway?" said Buttercup.

"He brought us back, for one," said Boomer. He knew, after what Brisbaine said, saying they were 'brought back' was oversimplifying what occurred, but Boomer didn't feel like explaining that they were clones. Also, deep down, it hurt Boomer to remind himself that he was just a botched clone, whose feelings might be the result of a mistake made by science.

Buttercup straightened up. Boomer continued to speak.

"He was the director of the project that brought us back. The point of the project was to train us to s-strengthen national security. At least, that's what he claimed. Now I'm pretty sure it isn't from the government. I think he's something worse."

"What makes you think that?" asked Blossom.

Boomer paused for a moment. Dexter saw he was uncomfortable, so he tried to save him some trouble.

"He tried to lobotomize him," said Dexter.

The Professor looked aghast. Blossom's eyes widened in horror.

"My God," she whispered.

Buttercup looked confused.

"Lobotomize? Isn't that when they suck all the fat out of your stomach with a tube?" she asked.

Coop looked up from his dinner.

"It's, uh, when they try to take out a piece of your brain so you become a zombie and do what they whatever they want," he said.

Everyone, aside from Boomer, who was uncomfortable remembering what had occurred earlier, was looking at Coop, astonished at his random display of intelligence. Coop looked annoyed.

"Hey, I watch a lot of sci-fi shows, okay? I'm allowed to know stuff, aren't I?"

They shrugged this off and returned their attention to Boomer and Dexter.

Bubbles, who had remained mostly silent during the 'dinner,' turned to Boomer.

"…he really tried to do that to you?" asked Bubbles, hesitantly.

Boomer looked down, not saying anything. That entire ordeal was not something he wanted to recall.

"Why would he want to do that?" asked Blossom.

Boomer did not answer once again. He didn't want to go into why Brisbaine attempted to do that to him, especially with Bubbles there; he didn't want to give her the false impression that any of that was her fault.

Dexter saw Boomer was uncomfortable again, so he continued where Boomer left off.

"To make a long story short, Boomer narrowly escaped Brisbaine's…procedure, and flew over to the Nasty Burger, where he ran into me and Otto. He basically told us everything he told here, so we got Coop to give us a lift here."

They all sat back and reflected on what they had heard.

Buttercup banged her fist on the table.

"Nerve of that Grisbaine guy," she said, accidentally mispronouncing Brisbaine's name. "First, he brings back a bunch of evil boys we have to deal with again, then he-"

Boomer spoke up at this.

"We're not evil."

Buttercup looked up.

"What are you, stupid? But, that's how Mojo made you. He wanted to make you e-"

"We're not evil," said Boomer, sounding completely certain. For all the things Boomer was uncertain about, this he was completely sure of. "Butch may be a jerk sometimes…and Brick may seem cold a lot, but they're not evil. Maybe we were once, but we're not. I…I know it may sound crazy but we're-"

Boomer stopped and looked at the window. He could have sworn he just saw something go by it a moment ago. Something very familiar to him.

"You alright, Boomer?" asked Otto.

Boomer said nothing.

_No…it couldn't have been_ thought Boomer. _I must be seeing things. That couldn't have been…that couldn't have been Brick._

Boomer remained in thought. Buttercup still didn't look convinced about the statements Boomer made. Everyone was silent for a moment.

The Professor, however still had some unanswered questions.

"But…no one still told me why Bubbles was locked in her room all day."

Boomer snapped back to reality at this statement and looked as if someone had shot him in the chest. Bubbles looked down, embarrassed.

Dexter and Otto looked at each other, for they too were ignorant of Boomer's involvement in that affair.

"I…don't see what that has to do anything," said Dexter. "I mean, I know he was at the playground, but he says he didn't do anything."

"You mean you don't know!" said Buttercup, astonished.

"Know what?" asked Otto.

"Well," said Buttercup. "He-"

Blossom got up and covered Buttercup's mouth. Buttercup mumbled angrily underneath.

"You know, this might not be the best place to explain that," said Blossom, trying not to embarrass Bubbles further. "Professor, I'll tell you in the other room."

Blossom got up, dragging Buttercup with her down towards the lab, with the Professor following. Dexter and Otto followed suit, without being formally invited to follow, for they were curious to discover the information Boomer had omitted. Coop finished what was left on his plate, then followed everyone else, because now he too was curious to see how this soap opera played out.

Boomer remained still for a moment. Then, he came to startling realization.

He and Bubbles were alone. Boomer suddenly became extremely nervous once again.

_I can't avoid this any longer_ thought Boomer. _I have to talk to her._

Little did he know that Bubbles, at that moment, was thinking almost the exact same thing to herself.

They were both afraid, but they knew it was unavoidable. They both knew it had to be done.

The fateful time had finally come.


	9. Stony Limits Cannot Hold Love

Brisbaine sat outside his truck, waiting for the Blitz and Barrack, who Brisbaine liked to call the Imitations, to return from their assigned missions. He hoped there would be no complications.

_After all, they're not as advanced as Blaine,_ he thought. _However, that does mean they only know to follow my orders without question. I need to stop worrying. The real thing to worry about was Blaine._

He looked over at the truck, knowing Blaine was inside, waiting anxiously.

_He has the mental capacity to question my order, yet he chooses not to. He wanted to kill Boomer even before I order him to. But why?_

He looked up the sky, then shook his head.

_Bah, no matter. This only makes things easier. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, John. Soon this will all be over, and PROJECT: ROWDY's final phases will be ready to execute._

He smirked to himself.

_Yes…_ he _will be most pleased once this is over._

As Brisbaine sat down, he saw a red streak zoom across the night sky. Blitz, Brick's Backup, landed next to Brisbaine, the red streak slowly fading behind him.

Brisbaine stood up. He was not in the mood to waste time.

"Did you find him?" asked Brisbaine.

"Sir, I have found the residence where he is currently staying," replied Blitz, without emotion.

"And you're sure of this," Brisbaine asked, still not completely convinced of his competence.

"Sir, I saw him clearly through the window. There is no doubt."

"Good," said Brisbaine. "Then tell me everything."

* * *

Weasel dusted himself off and examined his body for any serious wounds. Aside from a large amount of scratches on his body, and his lab coat being torn so bad, it was practically a toga, he was mostly fine. Some of the scratches were deeper than others, but they didn't seem to be too serious.

He tried to regain his bearings, since the helicopter being hit and crashing was the single most frightening moment of his life. He tried to distance himself from the rubble, fearing part of the gas tank might not have exploded just yet. He sat down on a tree stump, clutching his laptop.

As he sat down, trying to calm himself so he could depart and do what needed to be done, he saw a green streak of light off in the distance.

_Is it…Butch?_ thought Weasel, optimistic.

Weasel saw the green light come into the foreground, seeing Butch's figure land near the rubble. Weasel was glad, because Butch, even though he was aggressive, would surely listen to reason.

Weasel got up and walked over to the figure.

"Butch!" he called out. "It's me! Weasel!"

The boy Weasel had called Butch looked over to him, and said something under his breath. Weasel thought he heard the word "target," but dismissed it as only the sound of the wind. He got closer to him.

"Hey, I'm so glad to see you, Butch. Listen there's some stuff I need to tell- "

The boy raised his hand and began to charge green energy in it. Weasel stopped in his tracks.

"Butch," he said slowly, "what are you-"

"Hello, sir. Prepare to die" said Barrack, without any emotion.

Weasel came to two conclusions very quickly. The first was that this was not Butch. Weasel knew Butch's manner of speaking very well, and doubted Butch would say something like that without emotion. Normally, he would use his cocky voice, and likely say a curse word or two.

The second conclusion was that Weasel needed to run.

Weasel turned and began to charge into the woods. The green ball of light from Barrack's hand shot out and hit some rubble, only missing Weasel by a few feet. Weasel ran into the woods, weaving around the tree. He could hear Barrack flying behind him.

Weasel hoped he could evade the boy as long as he needed to. His destination couldn't have been that far from here. He needed to run as fast as he could, which was what he was doing.

The question is if he can keep it up long enough.

* * *

Boomer sat in his chair, his heart pounding like a drum. He looked over to Bubbles, who seemed to feel this was as awkward as he thought it was.

_Okay, calm down,_ he thought to himself. _You have to say something. Just do what you did at the playground. Deep breaths, then just say it._

However, Boomer knew he could not do it exactly as he had done at the playground; that was different. Boomer was using Shakespeare's words, he wasn't using his own. Boomer had always had trouble talking, and was even worse at conveying his emotions. Boomer only used Shakespeare's words because he didn't think he didn't know how to say it himself.

_I'm nothing but a shadow of a shadow,_ he thought to himself. _How can I talk to her?_

As Boomer was contemplating this, Bubbles stood up from her chair. Fear shot through Boomer's mind.

_Oh God. I've done something wrong. I should have said something. Now she must think I hate her and she's going back in her room._

This, however, was not the case. Bubbles turned over to Boomer. She gave a half-smile.

"Wanna go talk in the living room? You might feel less…nervous there."

Boomer stared up at her, realizing she was almost as nervous as he was. He tried to speak, but still couldn't. He simply nodded and got from his seat.

They walked in the living room. Bubbles sat on one side of the couch. Boomer was tempted to go for the chair in the corner, since he was so nervous, but he knew he couldn't succumb to cowardice any longer. Boomer slowly walked over to the couch and sat on the opposite side of the couch.

He took a deep breath. He glanced over at her, and she seemed to be thinking.

_It's okay,_ said a voice in the back of his mind. _Don't think. Just do it._

Boomer took one last deep breath, and prepared to speak.

* * *

Dexter's eyes widened after hearing Blossom explain what had really occurred at the playground.

"Whoa," said Dexter. "No wonder he was nervous."

"Yeah," said Otto, who was also shocked.

The Professor rubbed his chin.

"Yes…that explains why Bubbles was acting that way. She was obviously shocked by his seemingly random display of emotion. I really should have guessed this."

Coop, however, was smiling.

"I don't see why you all are making a big deal out of this," said Coop. "The little dude is just in love. Nothing to fight about."

"You don't understand," said Blossom. "The Rowdyruffs were the strongest enemy we had ever faced. We see them come back and then…this. We were all really overwhelmed. But now, after hearing that…I…don't know how to think. And…Buttercup, what do you think you're doing?"

Buttercup was looking into the other room, peaking her head over the doorway to look into the kitchen.

"You didn't think I was gonna leave her alone with Stuttering Blue, did you?" said Buttercup, without looking back from the doorway. "Looks like they're just sitting at the table still…"

"Buttercup, you obviously have no respect for anyone's privacy," said Blossom, irritated. "Bubbles should be able to talk with him in private, if she wants to."

"You're just saying that because you'd want to be alone whenever you're with Ol' Four-Eyes," retorted Buttercup.

"Shut up," said Blossom, her face slightly red. Dexter blushed as well.

"You shu- hey, they're moving into the living room. I'm gonna follow them," said Buttercup, creeping slowly into the kitchen.

"You're the nosiest person ever. Do you ever think about anyone else's privacy besides your own?" said Blossom.

"Nope," said Buttercup, continuing into the kitchen.

* * *

"I…" Boomer began to say. Bubbles looked up. He gulped and continued.

"I…I just wanted to…say…thanks. From…you know…back there."

Bubbles became less nervous since Boomer had finally began talking. She smiled.

"Your welcome," said Bubbles.

Boomer didn't smile back, because he was still extremely nervous, and because he never really smiled. He hoped she didn't notice; but, she did.

"I just saw you needed help," continued Bubbles. "And…I was feeling really…bad."

Boomer was confused.

"Bad? W...why bad?"

Bubbles looked down, twiddling her thumbs.

"Well, after I went back upstairs after you were at the door…you seemed…sad. That was wrong of me to do. I'm sorry."

Boomer, upon knowing he caused Bubbles pain, looked down, ashamed of himself.

"No…I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have done that. I…I mean…I didn't…I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. You…you shouldn't feel bad."

Bubbles paused for a moment, then smiled at him.

"You shouldn't feel bad either," she said.

Boomer was touched by this statement, and began to blush slightly.

"Thanks…but…it's not that…it's not that easy for me. I'm just…like that."

"Why?" asked Bubbles.

Boomer began to say something but stopped. He didn't have an answer. It struck him as unanswerable a question as "What is the meaning of life?" or "Why are we here?"

Bubbles looked down, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you," she said, misinterpreting Boomer's silence.

"No, it's not that," Boomer said quickly it. "It's just…I…I can't…"

He sighed.

"I've never…really been good at this kind of thing."

"What kind of thing?" asked Bubbles.

Boomer looked down.

"You know…talking. I…kinda…lack confidence."

Bubbles looked over at him. She put her hand on his shoulder again. Boomer's heart skipped a beat.

"You should feel better about yourself," said Bubbles, sweetly.

Boomer looked into her big, blue eyes. Then, he looked away.

"It's…not that simple. E-especially after what's happened…"

Bubbles took her hand away, after seeing he was upset.  
"You mean…what that man did to you?" she said, slowly.

Boomer didn't say anything for a moment. The reason wasn't because of what Brisbaine did; it was because of what he _said_. Boomer remembered his hurtful words.

_"DNA doesn't carry memory, child,"_ Brisbaine had said. " _Your mind, your memories, are all manufactured. You only remember what we want you to remember. You only think how_ we _want you to think."_

_"It's your feelings that aren't real. Face facts, child. You're not Boomer. You are not even a human being. You are nothing but a weapon. No, I'm giving you too much credit. You are nothing but wasted resources. Pure utter garbage."_

"I'm garbage," said Boomer, without realizing he was speaking out loud.

Bubbles got close to him, irritated.

"Don't talk about yourself that way," she said.

Boomer, realizing he had spoken, turned to her, his eyes getting watery. Recalling what Brisbaine had said made Boomer loose his grip.

"But it is true," blurted out Boomer, his voice crackling. "I'm nothing! I don't know who I am! Brisbaine said I'm nothing but a waste. What am I?"

Bubbles scooted closer to him on the couch.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. "You're Boomer. That's who you've always been."

Boomer, with tears streaming down his face, continued spilling his guts.

"No I'm not! I'm not Boomer. None of us really are who we are! We're just clones! Brisbaine said it himself! That's why he tried to do that to me! He said I was messed up! He said how I felt about you was just a mistake they made! It tears me up inside just thinking that all my feelings are a mistake!"

Boomer put his face in his hands, ashamed and sobbing.

_I'm pathetic_ he thought. _I can't do anything right. I just end up crying like a wuss. She must think I'm terrible. I raised my voice like I was yelling at her or something. What possessed me to do that? I should have just kept it all inside. I just made things worse! That's all I ever do! Why!_

Then, as Boomer was crying in his hands, he felt something warm on his neck. Then, he felt something come across his chest. They drew him towards the other side of the couch. He felt himself come up against a warm surface.

Boomer brought his hand down and saw that Bubbles was embracing him. She also had tears in her eyes. Boomer looked up at her, shocked.

"Please…don't cry like that," she said. "It…it makes me sad too. You shouldn't feel bad about yourself. And you aren't a mistake. You are who you want to be."

Boomer's eyes widened. Those few, simple words were the nicest things anyone had said to him. Boomer had stopped crying, because he felt touched and cared for. Boomer had never felt this way in his entire life. He remained still for a moment, letting her hug him as his heart raced.

_Is this embrace out of love or pity?_ Boomer thought to himself, even though he tried his hardest not to think of anything that would spoil this moment for him.

Boomer didn't know. He wiped the tears from his face, which was slightly blushed.

Finally, Bubbles backed away from him and wiped the tears from his face. She looked over to Boomer, and saw he had stopped crying. She smiled.

"Sorry if I made you feel…weird. I just…wanted to help again," she said.

Boomer had butterflies in his stomach, but did not say he did. He looked over to Bubbles.

"Thanks…sorry for…freaking out," said Boomer.

"It's okay," she said. Then, she bit her bottom lip.

"Boomer?"

Boomer realized this was the first time she had ever said his name, which made his heart beat faster. He turned over to her.

"There's…something I need to ask you…" said Bubbles, nervous.

She braced herself, because she was about to get to the heart of the matter. The thing that had been on her mind ever since that afternoon at the playground. It was a question of grave importance to her.


	10. Be Rough With Love

"There's…something I need to ask you…" said Bubbles, nervous.

She braced herself, because she was about to get to the heart of the matter. The thing that had been on her mind ever since that afternoon at the playground. It was a question of grave importance to her.

Boomer looked over at her. He could tell she was nervous, which made Boomer himself nervous. He had a hunch what she was going to ask. He knew the question had to come eventually.

Bubbles bit her bottom lip, then asked.

"Umm…today…earlier…" she began. She had trouble finding the right words. She wanted to ask him this question, but she didn't want to word it in a way that might upset him more.

"Today…at the playground…"

Boomer gulped. There was no doubt about it now. She was asking the question he most feared, and he had no way to avoid him. Boomer felt as if he was in a car, stalled out right on the railroad tracks, beginning to hear the train whistle blowing.

"I…what you said…" Bubble's continued, still having trouble finding the words.

Boomer began to sweat. But then, Boomer looked at Bubbles, and saw she was nervous too. In a strange way, it made Boomer feel like he wasn't alone. And that made him feel much less afraid. He suddenly didn't feel as if he was stalled out on the train tracks anymore.

Bubbles finally found her nerves, and asked.

"Umm..what you said at the playground…why…I mean…why…do you…feel that way?" Bubbles asked, fearing she hadn't worded it well enough.

Boomer, although still very nervous, wasn't terrified. He tried to think of what to say, but was finding himself unable to find the words too. Feelings were hard to put into words. There weren't enough adjectives in the English language to do the feeling of love justice. He looked down, trying to think.

Bubbles mistook the silence for offense, and looked down.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," said Bubbles, embarrassed.

"N..no, it's not that," said Boomer, trying to reassure you. "It's just…"

He thought for a moment.

"To…to be honest, I can't really e-explain why. I don't know. I mean…"

Boomer put his head in his hand, trying to find the words.

"I…I'm not really good at sharing how I feel. That's…that's why I had to borrow that speech from Shakespeare. Because…because I don't know how to myself."

Bubbles got closer to him and put her hand on his. It was warm, and Boomer's face reddened.

"Could you try?" asked Bubbles. "I…I really want to know."

Boomer, his heart in his throat, drew in a deep breath. He tried to think, but it wasn't working. Then, he thought of something.

_Don't think,_ he thought to himself. _Just say the first words that come into your mind. Feelings can't be reasoned or thought out. Just speak from your soul._

Boomer took a deep breath, then let it out.

"M…my brothers were all pretty mad about what happened…you know…before. The…kiss? They…they felt like you all had…we…killed us."

Bubbles looked horrified.

"We…we never thought of it that way," she whispered, ashamed and disgusted with herself.

"But…but I never thought of it that way," said Boomer. "I…after we came back…I thought about it a lot. I had…enjoyed it."

Boomer blushed, but continued.

"I…realized how…I felt…"

Boomer's face got redder.

"But…for a long time…I…I didn't know why. Even earlier today…when I said it…I couldn't…I couldn't really put my finger on why…it just felt…right…"

Boomer glanced over to Bubbles, then looked back down, shy.

"But…after coming here…I think I…understand more…"

He looked at Bubbles, in the eyes, something he rarely ever did.

"You…you're a caring person. You…you're never selfish. And you're…sweet. You…you can show people how you feel…something I could never do…it's…it's hard to explain…it's just…"

Boomer then found the best words he could think off to describe how he felt about her. They weren't perfect words, but nothings perfect.

"T-thinking about you…the way you are…that gives me hope. It gives me courage…you're the only one who's ever…ever had that effect on me."

Bubbles didn't say anything for a moment. Fear crept back into Boomer's mind, but then she smiled.

"That's the nicest thing I've ever heard," she said. "That's much better than what that Speareshake could ever say."

"Shakespeare," corrected Boomer.

"Right, him."

Boomer felt deeply touched. He felt a warm feeling in his chest that began to spread through his entire body.

Then, without thinking, he asked a question that he had worried about for even longer than Bubbles' question.

"And…Bubbles…what…I mean…what did you think…of…what I said?"

Bubbles suddenly got real nervous. She bit her bottom lip again and looked away.

"Umm…" she began. "I…"

However, before she could continue, a great commotion came from the other room. Noises of a struggle were heard in the other room, followed by familiar voices.

"Let me go! I need to get my hands on that little-" said Buttercup, in the next room over.

More intense noises followed.

"You shouldn't have been spying on them anyway!" said Blossom.

"Well…he…hugged her!" retorted Buttercup.

"Actually, she hugged him," said Dexter, not as loudly as the sisters.

"What? Dexter, I thought you said you weren't looking at them!" said Blossom.

"Well…I was just trying to stop Buttercup from lynching Boomer and I…overheard some…stuff," said Dexter, embarrassed.

"Let me go!" said Buttercup.

Buttercup thrusted forward from their grip and fell out from the doorway onto the floor of the living room. Dexter and Blossom, who were trying to restrain her, fell down out onto the floor with her. They all looked up at Bubbles and Boomer, both looking embarrassed.

Blossom tried to think of something to say to relieve the tension.

"Umm…does anyone…want…dessert?" asked Blossom, nervous.

However, before any of them had a chance to respond, there was the sound of an explosion from outside the house. The house vibrated slightly. The sound of debris falling upon the ground followed the explosion.

"What the hell was that?" said Dexter.

They all fled towards the doorway. Bubbles flung open the door and they all beheld the shocking sight behind the door. They all felt confused and astounded at what they saw.

"Good Lord…" she muttered.

* * *

Far above the Earth, out in the vast blackness of the final frontier, two colored lights raced through the cosmos. The green and red rays of lights sped across meteors, asteroids, and planets littered throughout space.

The green light, Butch, glanced over to confirm that the red light, Brick, was still giving him the cold stare. Even at the speed they were traveling, Butch clearly saw that he still was.

Traveling through space had given Butch time to think, which is something Butch tried to avoid doing at every possible opportunity. In Butch's mind, it was better to only act. Thinking always brought out the worst in people. Butch felt thinking only complicated things. Boomer thought to himself all the time, and the result of that, in Butch's mind, only caused more trouble than he was worth.

Butch had thought about all the things Brick had said.

" _How can you possibly stand by and do nothing!_ " he had said.

" _You just shove off any feelings for him just because he does something to piss you off?"_

" _You're a sad excuse for a human being and you're a sad excuse for a brother!"_

Butch shook his head.

_This is stupid!_ Butch thought. _I'm don't even know why I'm bothering to think about all that. I'm not doing anything wrong._

Even as Butch thought this, he heard Brick's words echo in the back of his skull.

"Y _ou're a sad excuse for a brother!"_

_I'm not the one who's a bad brother,_ Butch reassured himself. _HE is. I mean…all that! For a girl! One of the girls who killed us! He didn't care what we would think about it. Why should I care how he feels if he didn't care about us. About me. That little…_

Butch glanced over. Brick was still giving him that same cold stare as they sped past another nebula.

_And him. He acts like I'm the bad one…I'm not the bad one. I haven't done anything wrong._

Butch tried to stop thinking, but his mind was already running into overdrive, and didn't intend on slowing down anytime soon.

Butch remembered when he had yelled at Boomer after the occurrence at the playground. He remembered how he just stared at the ground, saying nothing. Then Butch remembered how he had hit Boomer.

Butch began to get frustrated.

_Grr…damn it all!_ thought Butch. _So what if I yelled at him. And hit him. He deserved it!_

His mind kept replaying when he had hit Boomer. The drawing of the fist back, followed by the feel of the wind as it rushed through the air. The balled fist connecting with the jaw, feeling the crunch. All the while, Boomer still having that blank look on his face.

_I…I had to do it! He made me! It's not my fault! I have nothing to feel bad about! I've done nothing wrong._

He kept remembering that punch.

_I've got nothing to feel guilty about! I do not feel guilty!_

He remembered that same blank look on his face. Those blank eyes looking up at him.

_I do not feel guilty!_

" _You're a sad excuse for a brother!"_

_I'm right! I'm right, dammit!_

" _You just shove off any feelings for him just because he does something to piss you off?"_

_So, what? He did the same thing to me when he did…that!_

Butch heard Brick's voice again in his mind, but this time it wasn't a memory. These were new words, coming from deep inside his own consciousness.

" _Did he really?"_ Butch's mental picture of Brick said.

_Yes, yes he did!_

_"Is yourself all you care about?"_

_Maybe, so what? He was the one being selfish._

_"Is he selfish, or are you just denying yourself."_

_I have nothing to feel guilty about!_

" _Then why do you keep thinking about him?"_

Butch, shocked that he had thought this, widened his eyes in realization.

_I…I don't know,_ he thought.

_"Why do you keep having to reassure yourself?"_ said the Brick in Butch's mind.

_I don't know._

_"Why do you keep remembering all the things you did to him if you have no feelings?"_

_I. Don't. Know!_

_"Don't you get tired of denying yourself?"_

_I'm not denying myself._

_"You're just running away."_

_I'm not running away._

_"If you're not running away, why are you going on this stupid mission?"_

_Because…because…  
_

Butch thought for a moment later. Then, reluctantly, he made a decision.

Butch and Brick approached an asteroid belt. Butch lowered down to the asteroid and Butch, still giving him the cold stare, followed him. Butch slowed down as the green trail behind him began to fade, and landed on the gray rock surface of the asteroid. Brick landed near him, still giving him that stare.

Butch remained silent for a moment, reflecting one final time.

"Y _ou're a sad excuse for a brother!" Brick had said._

Butch thought this for one last time. Then, after regaining his gripped, he narrowed his eyes and began to yell.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" he yelled.

Brick did not change his expression.

"What do you think? I want to go back." he said.

Butch pointed at him, still yelling.

"God, you're such an idiot!"

Brick still gave him the cold stare. Butch turned away from him, then yelled out.

"Get the hell out of here!"

At this, Brick broke his cold stare. He appeared puzzled.

"What?" asked Brick.

Butch turned back around, pointing at him.

"You heard me! I said get out of here! If you're gonna be such a freaking bitch about this, just go back there your damn self!"

Brick blinked, stunned at Butch's remarks.

"Why are you-"

Butch interrupted him, because he knew what he was going to ask and Butch did not feel like answering.

"What are you, deaf! I said I want you out of here! Go on! Go back there, you pansy!"

Brick, however, remained there.

"Why are you saying this? I thought you didn't want me to help Boomer."

"I don't! I just want you to get away from me! I'm tired of having to deal with your crap. I just want you to get the hell away from me!"

Brick stared into Butch's eyes.

"You're lying."

Butch, after seeing Brick read him through his eyes, turned away again.

"I want you to get the #$ away from me as fast as possible! Boomer has nothing to do with any of this," lied Butch. "I couldn't care less about Boomer! I just want you to go!"

Brick could tell Butch wasn't being truthful about his motives.

"Come back with me," said Brick.

Butch turned back around, furious.

"What are you, stupid! I don't care about him! I just want you to leave me alone and GO AWAY!"

"Drop the charade!" shouted Brick. "You feel bad, don't you?"

"GO…AWAY!"

"Come back with me!"

"LEAVE ME ALONE! I'M NOT GOING BACK!"

"Why not?"

"BECAUSE I CA-" Butch began, but stopped himself. He couldn't bring himself to reveal his true reason for not wanting to return; it was just the way he was.

Butch turned away from Brick once more.

"Do I have to shoot at you before you actually listen to me! I want you to get away from me, right now! I'll do the stupid mission myself, without having to deal with your ass!"

Brick paused, then sighed.

"Butch…" he said. "I'll ask one more time. Drop the act and come with me."

Butch, without turning around, spoke, only this time he did not yell.

"Go. Now. It's what's best for both of us."

Brick looked at Butch, then turned back towards the direction they had traveled from; the direction towards Earth.

"Maybe you're not as sad excuse for a human being as I thought," said Brick, as he prepared to leave. "Maybe there's some a little humanity in you."

"Kiss my ass," said Butch, keeping charade up till the end.

Brick charged energy beneath his feet, then jumped upward, flying through the vast expanse of space. He traveled as fast as his body would allow. Butch turned to see a red light off in the distance for just a moment. Then it was gone.

Butch looked up into space. He walked over to a large grey rock protruding from the asteroid and sat on it.

_I can't go back,_ he thought to himself. _How am I supposed to look at him after what happened? After what he did…and…after what…I did…_

Butch looked up at the cosmos and sighed.

_Life was much simpler when I avoided thinking._

For the first time in a long time, Butch didn't know what to do.

* * *


	11. Turn and Draw!

Weasel ran behind a building as a green bolt of light struck the asphalt where he stood a moment ago, making a small crater in the middle of the road. Weasel continued to run, not waiting around for another assault from the false Butch, who was floating the skies above, looking down upon Weasel, as a child with a magnifying glass might look down on an ant, just itching to set him on fire. Weasel ran through alleys, trying to avoid open areas. He continued to keep his laptop secure under his arm; without it, going towards his destination would be meaningless. He heard a car screech on the road, most likely to avoid the hole Barrack had put in the road.

Weasel had not stopped running since he had first encountered the imposter of Butch. Through some miracle, Weasel had managed to evade the imposter's attacks through the woods. Weasel still did not know how he managed to do it, since the imposter certainly had Butch's speed. Granted, Weasel was, after all, a weasel, and was naturally built to move swiftly through the forest; although Weasel usually resented reverting to the habits of his less intelligent brethren, Weasel was forced to run on all fours to move quickly through the woods. However, Weasel was still puzzled as to how he could elude him for so long.

_There's only one possible explanation,_ Weasel thought while running through the alleys of Megaville. _This fake Butch's intelligence must be much lower than the real ones. But how…_

Suddenly, Weasel realized what the imposter was. Weasel didn't know how he couldn't have thought of it before.

_My God…Brisbaine isn't satisfied with just releasing Blaine…he's released all the Backups, despite the fact that Barrack and Blitz are imbeciles. No wonder I could evade him for so long. He's too undeveloped to think ahead…but he's still deadly. Damn you, Brisbaine. Using these botched clones to follow your will without question._

Weasel now knew what Brisbaine's motives were. The fact that he had released Blaine was scary enough, but now Barrack was released, and Weasel had no doubt Blitz was too.

_All this…all this to eliminate the boy._ However, Weasel quickly corrected his thought. _No…not just all this. Eliminating Boomer is just tying up loose ends for this bastard…what he wants is worse…much…much worse._

Weasel rushed out of an alley and ran down the sidewalk. It was only a short distance from his destination. From behind him, Weasel heard Barrack blasts getting closer.

Weasel quickly turned a corner, barely missing one of Barrack's blast, which hit a hot dog stand. Weasel looked down the street and he saw it.

_There! I'm here!_ Weasel thought as he saw the house. It was a plain white house. Normally, it would be hard to distinguish this place from any other house, but two things made it clear it was the house he sought. One was that Weasel memorized the directions to the house in great detail on his laptop, shortly before his helicopter exploded. The other detail was much more obvious.

There was a giant robot sitting on the front lawn, painted with flames on it. Although Weasel knew the house's resident did not own it, the robots' pilot fit in with the people the resident, and more importantly his children, associated with.

_The Utonium house..._ thought Weasel. _I must hurry._

Weasel continued running, but he was starting to breath heavily and slowed down. He was getting closer and closer. He could almost make out the word "Utonium" on the mailbox. Just a little farther…

A burst of green energy exploded right behind Weasel. The force of the impact hurled Weasel into the air, and he smashed back on the asphalt. Weasel felt blood gush inside his mouth as his jaw connected with the road. He turned around and saw the Barrack, descending down toward the ground near him. Weasel felt a great fear creep into his soul. He tried to get up and run, but it was no use. If only he could get up…he was only a short distance away from Utonium's door.

Barrack stood over him and pointed his finger at Weasel. Green sparks began to emanate from tip of his finger.

"I'm sorry, sir. But this is where you die," said Barrack, his voice echoing no joy or resentment. He said it flatly, like he was stating a simple fact.

Weasel closed his eyes, and prepared for the worst.

_God…help me…if I die, the truth will be lost forever._

However, Barrack looked up, behind Weasel. Behind him, Weasel could barely make out the sound of a door creaking open. He turned back and saw a blond haired girl with blue eyes standing at the doorway. Weasel instantly recognized her from the countless times she and her sisters had been on the news.

It was Bubbles, the Powerpuff Girl.

Standing behind her were the other girls, a boy in a lab coat, and a boy who looked like he had endured a severe beating recently. However, after a moment of looking at him, it finally registered that it was Boomer.

_Sweet mother of God… Brisbaine did that?_

Bubbles saw Weasel, beaten up on the road just outside their house. Then she saw what she thought was Butch, standing over him, preparing to deal death.

"Good Lord…" she muttered.

Behind Bubbles, Buttercup and Blossom came out of the house onto the front porch. Buttercup began to charge green light in her hand.

"Alright, just _what_ is going on here!" demanded Buttercup.

Weasel turned back towards them.

"Help me!" yelled Weasel.

* * *

Boomer was shocked by the sight outside. Boomer felt many things when he saw the figure of Butch. Nervousness. Fear. Speechlessness. But most of all, Boomer felt confusion.

_This doesn't make any sense,_ thought Boomer. _Why would he do this?_

He saw Butch, standing over Weasel, lying on the ground clutching a laptop, wearing at tattered lab coat. Weasel's fur was bloody and burned.

_How could he do this to Weasel?_ Thought Boomer. Butch was a hothead, who would basically try to assault almost anyone at the drop of a hat. But Boomer never imagined Butch would try to hurt Weasel. Boomer and his brothers had always treated Weasel with respect, since he was partially responsible for bringing them back. Although Boomer knew they were just cloned, not risen from the dead, Butch did not.

_So why would he try to hurt Weasel?_

Boomer tried to walk out the doorway, but he felt something holding him back. He turned to see Bubbles, looking at him with a worried look in her eyes, holding on to his wrist. Boomer's heart skipped a beat; but, although the sight of Bubbles holding on to him, and more importantly worrying about him, made his heart beat like a jackhammer, Boomer knew this was something he had to do. He had to find out why Butch would do this, even though deep down, Boomer was afraid of facing his brother, who had beaten him in rage only a few hours before.

"It's okay," whispered Boomer to Bubbles, as he slipped out of her grip and walked past Buttercup and Blossom down the porch.

He walked down and looked past Weasel, huddled onto the asphalt of the street. He looked into the face of Butch, whose eyes were cold and emotionless.

"Butch…" said Boomer, his heart in his throat. "What…what are you doing?"

The figure of Butch looked back at Boomer, his facial expression not changing even the slightest bit. Then, he said something that confused Boomer more than anything else he had heard today.

"I'm afraid I do not know who you are," said the person Boomer thought was Butch.

* * *

Brisbaine had just finished hearing Blitz's report of the location where Boomer was hiding. Upon hearing his location, Brisbaine became very frustrated.

_Dammit…even when that boy doesn't even try, he still complicates my plans,_ thought Brisbaine.

The fact that the boy was now at Utonium's house made his plan to eliminate Boomer from the picture more complicated. Blaine would be able to kill Boomer…but there was no way he could face Boomer _and_ the Powerpuff Girls on his own. Not to mention that, according to Blitz, there were even more freaks at Utonium's house at the moment that might complicate things further.

However, Brisbaine liked to prepare for everything and he had brought something in the back of his truck, just in case Boomer managed to obtain aid from someone else.

_Looks like I'll have to test the next experiment a little early,_ thought Brisbaine, smirking.

He looked down at Blitz, who was now staring at him, blankly.

"What shall I do now, sir?" asked the clone.

Brisbaine looked down at him, without answering. Brisbaine had not thought about what to do with Blitz afterwards. Blitz's mind was too underdeveloped to aid in the complex procedure needed to destroy Boomer. Blitz's childlike brain would only stand in the way of the plan. Frankly, he had outlived his usefulness.

"You are relieved of duty," said Brisbaine. "Wait here."

Brisbaine went into the back area of his truck, and reached under the damaged operating table he had strapped Boomer to a while earlier. He pulled out a steel briefcase, with an electrical lock, that could only be unlocked by putting in the proper code on the numerical keypad on the briefcase. Brisbaine entered the code quickly, and the briefcase clicked as the lock was release.

Brisbaine opened the case and retrieved a small belt from it. Attached to the belt were almost a dozen small, silver orbs, with blue lights on the top of each one. At the bottom of each orb were the letters "P.E.C.F." Brisbaine took the belt and hid it inside his lab coat.

_I have everything I need now,_ thought Brisbaine.

Brisbaine walked casually out of the back of his truck, back towards Blitz.

"Blitz…get into the back of the truck and await further instructions," said Brisbaine. Blitz immediately did as he bid.

Brisbaine had no intention of giving Blitz any further instructions then or ever.

_Once this is over, I will break him down to his atomic structure and harvest his Chemical X. The final phase of Project ROWDY has no need for such defects as Blitz…and Barrack…and especially Boomer._

Brisbaine walked over to the front of the truck. He opened up the passenger side door. Blaine was sitting inside, waiting. He looked up at Brisbaine, eagerly.

"It is time, Blaine," said Brisbaine. "Time for you to fulfill your destiny. Listen…here is what you need to do…"

* * *

Up in the sky, many miles above the Earth's surface, a red light sped across the sky, at an almost impossible speed. It left a red trail as it sped, making the sky appear as if it had been scarred, drawing blood.

It had no intention of stopping. It sped downward. The source of the light looked around at everything below. His enhanced sight allowed him to make out almost everything below.

It was searching for something; something very important.

Brick sped downward, all the while, his eyes going back and forth. Searching…

* * *

Boomer didn't understand. The figure of Butch's words echoed in his mind.

_How could he not know me?_ He thought. _Is this some kind of joke? Is he trying to make me feel bad?_

_No…something is wrong._

Boomer looked at Butch, who still had that same look on his face.

_This isn't right._

Boomer looked Butch up and down. Usually, Butch always looks alert, ready for battle at any moment. But now, Butch didn't seem alert. He seemed relaxed, almost as if he was unaware what was happening around him.

He looked at Butch's face; he looked at his cold, emotionless gaze. This wasn't like Butch either. Whenever Butch is in battle, he either looks excited or pissed off. Right now, Butch didn't look like he felt _anything._

But the most unsettling thing of all was Butch's speech. Usually, Butch always talked in his usually cocky voice, talking tough and cursing. But now, Butch was talking in a voice that wasn't cocky. It was a voice of someone stating simple facts. There was no emotion in his words. No arrogance or pride.

Boomer finally came to a realization.

"This…this isn't Butch," said Boomer.

Behind him, Buttercup and Blossom became confused.

"Say what!" yelled Buttercup.

"This isn't Butch," Boomer repeated.

Weasel, who was now crawling towards Boomer, spoke up.

"No…no he isn't."

The fake Butch looked straight at Boomer.

"You are interfering with my mission," said Barrack. "Leave now."

Blossom and Buttercup began to advance on him. Bubbles walked from the doorway, towards Barrack as well.

"I don't know who you are," said Blossom. "But we're not leaving. We're not going to let you kill this man…or…animal…or whatever he is."

"I am a weasel," said Weasel.

"Right. We're not going to let you hurt this weasel."

Barrack looked down at Weasel, still trying to crawl towards Boomer and the girls.

"Then I have no choice," said Barrack.

The girls all began to charge energy in their hands. Boomer began to walk towards Weasel, to help him up.

However, in a flash, Barrack lept from the ground and sped at Weasel. He grabbed him from the back of the neck and held him outward. He got his other hand and filled it with energy.

"All of you…" said Barrack. "Back away now, or he'll die."

The girls all stood down. Boomer stood still as Weasel squirmed in Barrack's hands.

Weasel tried to escape, but to no avail.

_Crap,_ thought Weasel. _He may not be that intelligent…but he is still a little smarter than I gave him credit for._

They all stood back. Not knowing what to do.

Barrack began to squeeze Weasel's neck harder. Weasel yelped in pain. They all stood in horror. If they helped, Weasel was dead. But if they didn't, he was dead. They were stuck.

But, Boomer looked up the sky, and suddenly, he knew there was hope.

Barrack looked at him curiously.

"What are you looking at?" he asked.

Suddenly, from behind Barrack, there was a loud crashing sound. Barrack, still holding Weasel, turned around. In the middle of the street, someone had crashed down from high in the sky into the asphalt. The road had violently cracked from where the figure had landed. The figure wore a black and red suit, and had long red hair. He had a small baseball cap.

Brick looked up at Barrack, who was staring at him.

"Hi," said Brick, angrily. Then, immediately, he rushed at Barrack and punched him in the face. Barrack, who had been taken off guard, dropped Weasel onto the asphalt and fell onto the road.

Brick walked over to him and kicked him in the face. Barrack skipped across the asphalt like a pebble being tossed across a lake. Brick's eyes began to glow red and he shot a burst of energy from his eyes, onto Barrack. Barrack tried to get up after this assault, but soon realized it was fruitless. He fell back onto the road, unconscious.

Boomer walked over to Brick.

"Brick…" said Boomer.

Brick began to walk towards Boomer, but then he saw the Powerpuff Girls behind him. For a moment, Brick's instincts overcame him and he forgot reason. The hateful memories that were built into his brain suddenly flared at the sight of the girls, as it had on the playground earlier today. He raised his hand and began to charge energy. Blossom and Buttercup saw this and began to get ready.

"No no, wait," said Boomer. "Don't."

Brick looked into Boomer's eyes as he talked. Boomer looked serious and authoritative as he said this.

"Don't," said Boomer again.

After a moment, Brick went against his instincts and lowered his hand. Boomer looked relieved.

However, Brick needed to tell Boomer about his suspicions. About the boy that Brisbaine had with him that looked like Boomer, but wasn't.

"Listen Boomer…there is something you need to know. Brisbaine…he has a…"

At the doorway, Professor Utonium and Coop had walked out from inside. Otto and Dexter were already on the porch, coming out from the doorway upon seeing Brick dispatch Barrack.

The Professor looked out from beyond his porch, seeing a boy he did not recognize beaten unconscious on the road, another boy he didn't recognize, and the countless damage Barrack had done on the road leading up towards his house.

"What is going on here?" yelled out Professor Utonium.

"I believe I can answer that."

Everyone looked over towards Weasel as he spoke these words. The girls, Boomer, and Brick walked from the road towards him as he hobbled up the porch.

"Are you okay, sir?" asked Brick.

"That depends on your definition of okay, my boy. I'm living, yes, but…things are far from okay."

Weasel inched over towards the Professor. He held out his laptop.

"Professor Utonium…"

Weasel looked back at Boomer.

"Boomer…"

Then he at the Powerpuff Girls, and everyone else around them.

"All of you…I have very important news. I have something to show you all. It could very well mean the difference between life and death for you all."

Weasel looked back at Boomer once more.

"Especially for you, Boomer."

Boomer looked down, confused.

"What…what kind of news?" asked Boomer.

Weasel opened up his laptop.

"I have a lot of things I need to explain to you all. And then…there is a video you all need to see. Only then…will you understand…"

Bubbles spoke this time.

"Understand what?"

Weasel looked up.

"That if we do not act fast, there is a good chance Boomer will die before the end of this night."

Bubbles held her hand to her mouth, shocked and afraid.

"And if that happens," Weasel continued. "There won't be hope for any of us."


	12. This Day's Black Fate

Weasel's statement shocked everyone. Both Bubbles and Boomer looked distraught; Bubbles was because she was afraid something would happen. Boomer, however, was afraid for a different reason.

_Good lord…it's Brisbaine,_ thought Boomer, looking down, afraid. Even though Weasel had not said that the danger was from Brisbaine, Boomer could feel it. He remembered what Brisbaine had tried to do to him hours before. Then, a terrible thought occurred to him.

_What if Brisbaine comes here and tries to do that to Brick? Or Dexter? Or…Bubbles? If they get in trouble, it's my fault. I came here…I endangered them._

_It's my fault._

Boomer felt the eyes of his brother looking down up him. Brick was looking at him, concerned. Brick was about to say something, but Buttercup spoke out first.

"Whoa whoa whoa," said Buttercup, confused. "Would someone just tell me WHAT is going on here?"

Weasel sat down on a chair on the porch, exhausted and injured. He wiped away some of his blood.

"I was…getting to that," he said.

"Yeah, about that…just WHO are you?" asked Buttercup.

The Professor answered this question.

"This…um…mammal is Dr. I.M. Weasel. He is a scientist that is world renowned," he said.

Dexter's eyes lit up.

"I THOUGHT I recognized you!" he said. "You invented the Subatomic Protocore! I used your research when I was working on my own Neuroatomic Protocore. I basically rebuilt the quantum structure with a supercollider and-"

"Are you speaking English?" said Buttercup, eyebrow raised.

Weasel chuckled weakly, amused by this. He gathered his strength for the long, important speech he was about to make.

"Ok, so he invented a Submarine Sandwichcore, or whatever," said Buttercup, cynically. "What else makes him so great?"

The Professor looked at Buttercup and smiled.

"Among other things…" he said. "He was one of the first people to discover the true properties of Chemical X. His research enabled me to make a very small amount for myself. So, in a way, if he wasn't for him, you Girls wouldn't be here,"

Blossom and Buttercup all looked amazed for a moment. Bubbles didn't seem to hear this. She was still deep in thought.

"No way!" said Blossom.

"Way," said the Professor.

"Well, that's nice and all…but what exactly is he here for?" asked Buttercup. "And what's this so-called 'danger' that's coming? And while we're at it…"

Buttercup pointed over at Barrack's unconscious carcass.

"Why did Butch just go crazy and start trying to kill people?" said Buttercup.

Brick, momentarily drawing his attention away from Boomer's inner turmoil, spoke.

"That wasn't Butch."

"Why is everyone saying that? Am I the only one with eyesight or something?" said Buttercup.

"He may look like Butch," said Brick, calmly, "but he isn't. I left him back on a rock somewhere by Saturn"

Blossom, Buttercup, Dexter, Coop, Otto, and the Professor looked at Brick, curious.

"It's a long story," he said.

Boomer, upon hearing Butch did not choose to follow Brick back to earth, felt hurt.

_If he didn't come back,_ thought Boomer, _it must have been because he didn't want to help me. He didn't even want to see me. He hates me…Everything I do hurts and endangers everyone around me._

Bubbles saw that Boomer was hurt, which caused her to feel more dejected.

Meanwhile, Buttercup looked at Brick with a look of contempt, and scoffed.

"I don't think you have any right to hold anything from us," said Buttercup.

Brick, noticing this subject seemed to hurt Boomer more, began to resent Buttercup from bringing it up. He glared.

"Just drop it," said Brick.

"Don't talk to me like that."

"Well, stop bringing it up."

"You little-" Buttercup advanced on Brick, irrationally angry. "Why don't you give me one good reason why I shouldn't just come over there and tear you apart!"

The Professor was about to speak out and tell Buttercup to stop her childish squabbling, but Weasel spoke out before he got the chance.

"I'll give you a reason," said Weasel, finally regaining enough strength to tell them all the information they needed to hear. "Because if you try to kill eachother, you'll just make it all the more easier for _him_ to destroy you all."

"Who? That Krisbame guy?" said Buttercup.

"Brisbaine," corrected Blossom.

"Whatever. He's just a scientist. He can't get the jump on us like he did Little Boy Blue."

Boomer stared at the ground, still lost in his own self-resenting thoughts. He did not acknowledge Buttercup's comment.

"No…I'm afraid you misunderstand," said Weasel. "Brisbaine isn't who we should be worried about."

"Then who?" said Buttercup, still maintaining her attitude.

Weasel didn't know exactly how he should explain this.

"Brick…Boomer…you two may want to listen to this."

Boomer glanced up, but then looked back down. Weasel knew Boomer well enough to know he was just doing this to get him to stop talking to him. But, Weasel also knew that once he started dispensing information, Boomer would listen. Brick, however, gave Weasel his undivided attention.

Weasel sighed.

"I'm afraid we…I haven't been entirely honest with you two," he said.

Boomer didn't look up. He already knew they were clones.

_What other information could he tell?_ thought Boomer.

"What do you mean, sir?" said Brick, oblivious.

Weasel paused.

"Well…there is…more than one of you…" he said.

Brick looked shocked for a minute. Then he looked at Barrack's unconscious body, and seemed to understand.

"I see," said Brick, quietly. "Why do we have clones?"

Boomer began to feel pity for his brother. He obviously did not grasp the entire situation. He did not yet thought that they were clones them.

_Or maybe he has realized it, but just doesn't want to_ believe _it_ , thought Boomer.

"Well…" said Weasel, having a hard time. "Brick…it's…"

Boomer knew Weasel was having difficulty saying this. Even though he was still pained with the reality of their existence, Boomer felt it was his responsibility to inform his brother of this.

"We're clones too," said Boomer, softly, not looking up.

Weasel looked over at him, astonished.

"How did you-?" began Weasel.

"Brisbaine," said Boomer.

Weasel nodded, cursing Brisbaine under his breath.

Boomer looked over at Brick. Saying he looked upset was an understatement. He just stared ahead, not blinking, eyes as wide as possible. It reminded Boomer of how people look when they see a gruesome car crash or a murder. The look that signified that the collapse of their very existence. Boomer was no stranger to this look. He had probably had it on his face back in Brisbaine's van.

Brick didn't cry, he just nodded.

"I see," he said.

Boomer put his hand out, hesitated, but then put it on Brick's shoulder. Brick looked over at Boomer, amazed, and for good reason. Not six hours ago, Boomer avoided physical contact of almost all kind, and avoided social contact even more. This simple yet deep display of affection signified Boomer's growth. Brick could tell Boomer had been though a lot in the past few hours.

"What did he do to you?" asked Brick, trying to change the subject.

Boomer didn't speak. After a moment of silence, Dexter came forward, and quickly recounted the story of Boomer's encounter with Brisbaine. Boomer listened in turmoil. He looked over at Bubbles; she, too, seemed uncomfortable upon hearing this story.

After hearing the story, Weasel pounded on porch bench, angry.

"The audacity!" said Weasel. "I knew that despicable creature was telling half truths!"

Brick looked even more enraged than Weasel. It wasn't hard to understand why. Brick wasn't just angry at Brisbaine's treatment of Boomer; he was angry at himself. He was furious that he had taken orders from such a vile excuse for a human being. He had willingly called this man "sir," and he turns and tries to hurt Boomer.

"That dirty-" said Brick, before muttering a string of curses that Boomer didn't think was possible to fit in one sentence.

The Professor opened his mouth and looked as if he was about to say something about it being inappropriate for children to curse, but then he closed it. In this case, cursing was a healthy reaction.

Weasel regained his composure than resumed speaking.

"Anyway…as I was saying…yes…you're clones. Technically, you weren't alive before we released you from the lab. Your memories of the experiences of the original Rowdyruff Boys were computed into your brains upon your creation, in order to speed up the learning process."

He then added. "At least, that's what I thought before today."

Brick, still gripping with the reality that he wasn't truly who he thought he was, tried to get his mind on something else.

"What about the fake Butch?" said Brick.

"Yes…" said Weasel. "That is yet another clone. When you Boys were first begin created, we also began creating duplicates of you, in case something went wrong in the creation process. However…there were some…irregularities. The one you call 'fake Butch,', and your duplicate, Brick, matured too rapidly, and as a result, their brain development was more than a little impaired."

Brick nodded absently.

Boomer noticed a minor detail in Weasel's speech.

"But…what about my duplicate?" asked Boomer.

Weasel sighed.

"His growth was normal…but…he had many mental anomalies."

"Anomalies?" said Boomer, curious.

"He had mental patterns consistent with many sociopaths…"

"What's a sociopath?" asked Buttercup.

"It's another word for psychopath," said Blossom. "Which is another term for 'crazy person who kills things'"

"Well, not exactly," said Weasel.

"Actually, the definition of a sociopath is that he can't tell right from wrong," said the Professor.

"Indeed. He was a very unstable child…which brings me back to one of the reasons why I'm here."

Weasel got up and walked over to Boomer. He put his hand on his shoulder and knelt down.

"You duplicate…Blaine…is coming to kill you. In fact, he is probably on his way now."

Boomer looked shocked. Bubbles snapped up, angry and upset.

"What! Why?" demanded Bubbles.

"Brisbaine…" said Weasel, with contempt. "You see…from your creation, Brisbaine has been saying Boomer was a mistake…he always said that Blaine would be more useful. Knowing that Blaine could put everyone at the facility at risk, I refused to comply and I made a security system to ensure he could not release him without my agreement.

"From what you've described about what Brisbaine was trying to do, he was probably trying to manually configure your brain to be like Blaine's. He wanted you to become a psychopath."

"That son of a bitch!" exclaimed Butch.

"Indeed," continued Weasel, turning back towards Boomer. "Earlier today, he called me and said you had went insane and attacked him. I didn't know he was trying to perform malpractice on you, so…I had no choice…"

"You had to agree to let Blaine go," said Boomer, understanding.

Weasel turned away, ashamed.

"I know. I felt ashamed. After that, I went on to investigate Brisbaine. I was able to hack into his server, and what I found…was disturbing."

Weasel stood up and waved his hand over everyone.

"Brisbaine has been playing us all for fools."

Buttercup, seeing that she was included in Weasel's statement, spoke up.

"Hey, back up," she said, regaining her spicy temperament after a period of silent. Then she waved her hand mockingly over everyone except the Rowdyruff Boys. "How could WE be made fools by Ol' Dr. Frankenstein? We've never even heard of him before today?"

Weasel looked grave. He reached for his laptop. He opened it up.

"The video will explain all that," he said, finding the file. "I discovered this file on Brisbaine's computer, along with mysterious emails detailing Project: ROWDY."

Everyone gathered around the computer.

"Once you see this, you will see the seriousness of this situation," said Weasel.

He opened up Windows Media Player and played the file.

* * *

The film was very grainy and dark at first. The camera panned back and forth to show a long table. Many large figures were sitting in the chairs around it. The film was too bad to make out their details, but their silhouettes were large and grotesque.

"Why are we recording this?" asked one of the largest figures, who had a voice that sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

"So that future generations may look upon this and see our empire built from its beginnings," said someone off-screen. Unlike Chalkboard Voice, his voice seemed normal and distinguished. The authoritative manner in which he spoke gave the impression that he was the Leader of the meeting.

"Pfft," said Chalkboard Voice. "I don't buy that."

"Besides," said the Leader, "It gives the boy something to do."

The camera panned down the floor. The person behind the camera, whom Leader had called "the boy," spoke in a loud, prideful, and immature voice.

"BOY! You speak madness!" he said. "I am no BOY! I am-"

Chalkboard Voice slumped in his chair and appeared to put his hand in his face.

"Yes, we know who you are," he said, annoyed. "Just shut up."

"Hmph," said the Boy.

The camera came back up and panned to the other side of the long table. At the end, there was a blank, white screen. Near it was a laptop computer, with a projector attached to it. The light of the projector illuminated the white screen.

"Enough," said the unseen Leader. "Let's just get on with this. Get on with your presentation, John. I do hope this doesn't turn out to be a waste of my time, like your previous work."

The Boy snickered behind the camera.

* * *

"This movie sucks," said Buttercup. "I can't see anything. It's too dark. Can't even see who's talking."

"Ssh," said Weasel. "You'll see plenty in a minute."

* * *

A figure walked up to the projector. He seemed smaller and less grotesque than the other silhouettes.

When he came up to the projector, the light illuminated his figure. He had small glasses and wore a white lab coat.

* * *

Boomer instantly recognized him.

"Brisbaine…" muttered Boomer.

Boomer looked over at Brick, who glared in anger at the image on the computer.

"Hey," said Buttercup to Weasel. "Is that Whats-his-name?"

"Yes, now quiet," said Weasel.

"I kinda imagined him shorter…" said Buttercup.

"Ssh," said Coop, who had gone back in the kitchen to get a bag of potato chips to eat while watching the video. He ate some potato chips and offered some to Otto and Dexter.

"Do you really think that's appropriate?" said Dexter.

Coop shrugged.

Dexter thought for a minute than turned back to Coop

"Hey, why don't you go put that faker's body in Megas, so he doesn't get out?" suggested Dexter.

"But, I'll miss the good part."

"It's a video, not a movie. You won't miss anything."

Coop grudgingly agreed and went over to get Barrack.

Dexter seemed relieved and was finally able to focus now that Coop wasn't crunching potato chips next to him.

* * *

On the video, Brisbaine typed into the laptop computer.

"Well, Brisbaine," said Chalkboard Voice, mockingly. "What is this? I assume this is another one of your overly complex plans that will accomplish nothing, asides from wasting our resources?"

Brisbaine didn't look up and his emotion did not change.

"You know why they say you shouldn't assume?" said Brisbaine.

Chalkboard Voice didn't reply.

"Because when you do, it makes an _ass_ out of _'u'_ and _me_. Get it?"

Chalkboard Voice didn't laugh.

On the projector, a Powerpoint Presentation came up. On the white screen, the words "PROJECT: ROWDY" were projected.

"The Powerpuff Girls are the single greatest threat to our…organization," said Brisbaine. "All of our plans are in jeopardy because of these three girls."

"Are you just gonna state the obvious all day, or is this going somewhere?" said Chalkboard Voice.

"Quiet, Montray," said the Leader, offscreen. "Go on, John."

Chalkboard Voice/Montray slumped his massive body into his chair.

"As I was saying," said Brisbaine. "Because of the Powerpuff Girls, it is easy to forget the other threats to our organization."

"Psh," said Montray. "What other 'threats?'"

"The other so-called superheroes besides the Girls. The Justice League, the Teen Titans, Danny Phantom, XJ9…the list goes on and on."

Montray pounded hard on the table and there was an audible crack.

"Amateurs! They pose no threat compared the power those Girls could have as they age."

"Maybe they're little threat individually," said Brisbaine. "But what if they united against us? Or worse, what if they united with the Powerpuff Girls?"

Montray didn't respond.

"We wouldn't stand a chance," said Brisbaine.

There was some angry chatter from the other grotesque figures at the table.

"Quiet, all of you," said the Leader. "Continue."

"Not only that," continued Brisbaine. "But there are also other people that wish the same goal we do. And many of these people refuse to unite with us, not wishing to share power. The Legion of Doom, Slade, the Hive, and the Monarch, just to name a few."

"They're nothing compared to us! Especially that pitiful Monarch!" said Montray.

There were murmurs of agreement.

"Perhaps, but just like the heroes, if they united, we wouldn't be able to hold our own."

"Well, what do you suggest we do?" said Montary, irritated that Brisbaine was making him look ignorant.

"I'm glad you asked, Montary," said Brisbaine. He clicked a button on the laptop. On the projector, a photograph of the Rowdyruff Boys battling the Powerpuff Girls was pulled up.

"These are the Rowdyruff Boys. They are doppelgangers of the Girls, created by Mojo Jojo, in an effort to finally destroy them. Years ago, they fought the Powerpuff Girls, and-"

"Let me guess," said Montray. "The Girls pummeled them and saved the day, right?"

"No."

"No?" Montray wasn't expecting that response.

"The Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys were evenly matched. When the Powerpuffs tried to destroy them by conventional means, they failed miserably and were submitted."

Montray was silent.

"However, the Girls eventually found and exploited their one weakness," said Brisbaine.

"What weakness?" asked Montray.

"Kisses."

There was silence.

"…what?" said Montray.

Brisbaine smiled.

"Strange, I know. But, the instant the Rowdyruff Boys were kissed on the cheek, they imploded."

Montray was irritated.

"And what does this have to do with anything?" said Montray.

Brisbaine was beginning to look very pleased with himself.

"I was lucky enough to happen up on DNA samples of the Rowdyruffs very recently. You see, when they imploded, they left trace amounts of their DNA all over Townsville. It was actually quite simple to get samples of each of them."

"Hmm," said the Leader. "Go on."

Brisbaine pushed a button. It showed a picture of a highly advanced laboratory.

"As you may recall, my last project was an attempt to clone a creature with the powers of the Girls. I called it PROJECT: BUNNY…"

* * *

The Girls looked at each other, unsettled.

Weasel noticed their expressions and paused the video.

"Does…that name mean anything to you?" asked Weasel.

The Girls looked down, not willing to talk about it. Finally, Blossom spoke up.

"She…was…our sister."

Brick looked over at them, confused.

"What? I don't remember a fourth one of you," he said.

"She…" began Blossom, but didn't finish.

However, Brick understood and nodded.

"Oh."

Buttercup looked up and glared at the screen.

"That bastard. He messed with Bunny's DNA…"

"That is terrible," said Weasel, looking down. "But…I'm afraid you will see Brisbaine has done worse."

Weasel continued the video.

* * *

"However," continued Brisbaine. "The Project didn't go as planned. A week before the clone of this Girl was supposed to be fully matured, the lab where it was conducted was mysteriously destroyed. There were no survivors, or trace of the Girl. PROJECT: BUNNY was a total failure."

"Not to mention a waste of valuable Chemical X," said the Leader.

"Exactly," agreed Montray.

"Yes. That is another problem we have. Chemical X is very difficult to manufacture even small amounts of X. We lack enough knowledge of its properties to manufacture large amounts of it. And PROJECT: BUNNY used quite a lot of X."

"Alright, all I'm hearing you say is stuff we already know," said Montray. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Brisbaine hit a button the computer which showed a different lab.

"I propose we clone the Rowdyruff Boys."

There was an outburst of angry chatter.

"Insane," said one large figure.

"We'd just be wasting more X," said another.

"The Girls would just kiss them again."

"What does this have to do with the other threats?"

"Please, please," said Brisbaine. "You didn't let me finish."

The chatter quieted.

"You see, this time I will not allow the mistakes of PROJECT: BUNNY to repeat themselves," said Brisbaine. "I will assemble a team of world renowned scientists to oversee the Project."

"Treason!" said a small figure that sounded like a girl. "We can't let anyone know of our existence!"

"I thought you would react that way," said Brisbaine. "But do not worry. The scientists will never know about us. As far as they will know, they will be working on a secret project for the government. I have acquired fake papers from the Black Market that will make the lab seem like a genuine government facility. No one working on the Project will know anything."

The Girl fell silent.

"It will take an estimated two months for the first two sets of Rowdyruffs to be cloned."

"Wait…first two sets? You mean you want more?" said the Girl.

Brisbaine smiled.

"The first sets cloned will only be the Prototypes and their Emergency Backups in case something goes wrong. Their genetic code will be altered so their weakness is removed. These two sets will have sentience and fully developed brains, implanted with the memories of experiences of the original Boys.

"But, this is only the beginning of my plan."

Montray was confused.

"I assumed you wanted to use the Boys to destroy the Powerpuff Girls."

Brisbaine smiled.

"Remember what I said about assuming?" he said, cocky. "The Prototypes are only one part of my plan. You see, once they are fully trained, we will let them loose. Their implanted memories will instill in them a rage against the Powerpuff Girls, making them want to destroy the Girls."

"But…isn't that what I said?" said Montray.

"No no…the Boys are not ment to destroy the Girls. They will not be able to."

"Say what?"

"If the Rowdyruff Boys did not have that weakness, they would have fought the Girls for eternity. With the weakness removed, they will be evenly matched with them. The Prototypes will attack the Girls time and again, but neither side will be able to completely destroy the other. It's simple mathematics. They're both completely equal."

Now, Montray was really angry.

"So, what's the damn point of all this!"

"The Project will not end there," said Brisbaine. "You see, the Prototypes are a distraction. While the Prototypes occupy the Girls time, I will clone more of the Rowdys. But these Rowdys will not have the developed brains of the Prototypes, meaning they will be much faster to create. They will just have their immense power.

"We will create an army of Rowdyruffs. An army that will go out and destroy all other threats to us. All the heroes. All the competition. Nothing will be able to stop the army. And once they destroy everyone else, we will set them all on the Girls. The Girls will be too exhausted from fighting the superior Prototypes to stand against the army. The Girls and the obsolete Prototypes will be destroyed. And then nothing will be able to stand against us."

"Wait…" said Montray, who sounded pleased that he had finally found a flaw in Brisbaine's plan. "An army that size would require an…astronomical amount of Chemical X. And you said yourself that we cannot create a large amount."

Brisbaine smiled.

"That is why I will construct a machine that will mass produce Chemical X."

The figures around the table yelled angrily.

"Impossible!" said some of them.

"Haha…let me explain. One of the scientists I will have on the Project will be on of the greatest minds on the planet. The scientist who first discovered the true properties of Chemical X. When he joins, I will spy into his research on Chemical X.

"With I.M. Weasel's research in my grasp, constructed a machine to mass produce it will be simple. And I shall call this machine 'Final X.'"

There was silence. Everyone turned towards the Leader.

The camera panned to finally reveal the figure of the Leader. He sat at in a large chair at the other end of the table. He was large, but not quiet as large as some of the other grotesque silhouettes at the table. The film was grainy, so a clear picture of him was not show. However, it did show that he had three sets of yellow, glowing eyes; One on his head and two sets in his chest area.

The Leader leaned forward, revealing his skin was volcanic red.

"Good job, Brisbaine," he said. "I applaud your efforts. Get started on this right away. Report your progress whenever new developments arise. I believe this plan is your best yet."

"Thank you, Dr. X," said Brisbaine.

"With this army of Rowdyruffs," said Dr. X, "No one will be able to stop the Darkstar Council!"

The Boy behind the camera laughed a disturbing, young maniacal laugh.

"ZIM!" said Dr. X to the Boy. "Stop laughing. And put away that camera. You need to go clean the toilets."

The Boy/Zim mumbled angrily behind the camera.

"Yes, sir," said Zim, grudgingly.

The screen went black and the video ended.

* * *

Everyone stared at the blank screen in silence. They were not able to say anything. Weasel expected them to feel this way. After all, they had all just learned they had been deceived. The Boys, the Girls, and the Girls allies…they had all been pawns in Brisbaine's plan.

Coop came running back to the porch.

"Ok, I put the Green-Eyed kid in Megas, and-"

Coop saw their expressions and groaned.

"Crap, I missed the good part, didn't I?"


	13. My Only Hate

Several blocks away from the house of Professor Utonium, Blaine and Brisbaine were in a darkened dank alley. Brisbaine had gotten Blaine to fly them to this alley, only a short distance away, to review his plan on final time to Blaine, even though he had already gone over it with him several times during the speedy and turbulent flight. However, as Brisbaine reviewed, Blaine listened disinterested, leaning against the side of the alley, with his hands behind his head. On Blaine's waist was the belt with orbs Brisbaine had retrieved from the truck.

"Alright…did you get all that?" said Brisbaine, having finished his review. He sounded irritated once he noticed Blaine's attitude.

Blaine smiled and closed his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. I know all that."

"It's very important you do this exactly the way I tell you…everything must be perfect."

Blaine smirked to himself and thought, _Won't be too long from now…finally…_

"Blaine, did you hear me?" asked Brisbaine, raising his voice.

Blaine closed his eyes.

_Don't raise your voice at me, old man,_ thought Blaine.

Blaine smiled, his expression going directly against his thoughts.

"Whatever you say, sir. Whatever you say."

_I won't need you anymore,_ thought Blaine.

"Well, I'm glad you're attitude has improved," said Brisbaine smiling. "Make sure your belt is on tight."

Blaine, humoring Brisbaine, straightened his belt.

"Thanks for the reminder, Pops," said Blaine, smiling.

_I know how to wear a belt, you son of a bitch. Who do you think I am?_

"Well, good. Now…just to be sure, let's review one more time."

Blaine hid his resentment, but inside his head, he scoffed.

_This is useless. This is only time taking away from killing Brother. He needs to suffer. He needs to die. It's my right. And I'll be_ damned _if I'll let you interfere, old man._

However, outside, Blaine still wore that same smile. Behind that smile lurked a troubled, dangerous mind; an unstable, yet intelligent mind that could justify killing through the slightest change of his emotions.

Brisbaine began reviewing his plan, yet again, while Blaine still wore that smile.

* * *

"So, you see what's at stake here," said Weasel to everyone, after recapping to Coop what was on the video. "Brisbaine is working with these…people to destroy the world. He played us all for fools, planning to turn the Rowdyruffs and the Powerpuffs against each other, just as a diversion, while he began work on that clone army. We were all deceived…even me."

"That little $&$&," said Buttercup, angry.

"Buttercup! Language!" said the Professor.

"Well, what do you expect me to say!" said Buttercup. "That 'John' guy is a bastard! He messed with Bunny, he tried to trick us into killing eachother, and he messed with the Rowdyruffs."

"I thought you didn't care about us," said Brick, remarkably suppressing his rage towards Brisbaine.

"That's beside the point."

Boomer looked down at the ground, reflecting on what was said in the video. Suddenly, all of Brisbaine's attitude made sense.

Bubbles stared at Boomer, concerned.

"It all makes sense," said Boomer, quietly. "No wonder he hated me so much."

"What are you talking about?" said Buttercup, who was slow on the uptake.

"Don't you get it? Because of my…"

He glanced over at Bubbles and stammered.

"…emotions, I wouldn't fight you guys."

"OH! I get it!" said Blossom.

"What? Get what?" asked Buttercup, annoyed that she didn't seem to understand.

"With Boomer not fighting, that means you and the Rowdyruffs wouldn't have been evenly matched. It would have been 3 on 2," explained Weasel. "That means you Girls would have won."

"And Brisbaine wouldn't have his precious distraction," said Brick.

"And that allowed for the possibility that you Girls could simply stop Brisbaine from making his Rowdyruff army," said Dexter.

"And that's why Brisbaine wanted me out of the way…" said Boomer. He suddenly felt relieved that Brisbaine's words to him were all lies.

_I'm not useless_ thought Boomer. _It was just a lie…  
_

For the first time in a while, Boomer felt like he was worth something. His self-esteem was still lacking but now he felt better. Boomer was aware it was an odd feeling to have at such a time, but he couldn't help it. Oddly enough, this was the high point of his day. Brick was there, Bubbles didn't hate him, and nobody was trying to kill him.

But then he remembered what Weasel had said about his double, and his mood receded.

_Blaine…_ thought Boomer.

As he thought, Buttercup spoke.

"So, Brisbaine's plan was almost ruined because Blue had _feelings_?" said Buttercup.

"Feelings aren't anything to be trifled with," said Weasel. "Wars have been thought because of them. Civilizations destroyed because of them. The entire world has been changed more than once because of feelings. They're not to be taken likely."

"Wow…that was poetic…" said Blossom, admiringly.

"It sounded more like something they put on the back of a shampoo bottle," said Buttercup, once again covering up her true feelings with her tough attitude.

"Do you always have to be so cynical?"

"Yes. Yes, I do. So…who were those other guys in the film? The 'Darkstar Council'?"

Weasel looked over at her and shrugged.

"That…I'm afraid I do not know," said Weasel. "But they are obviously not anything we should take lightly."

Dexter, after pondering all this information, said his hypothesis.

"Do you think they were the same guys who helped Mandark? The guys with the robots?"

Buttercup closed her eyes and put her hands behind her head.

"Nah, couldn't be. They can't be behind everything. It's too much of a coincidence."

"Maybe they're that good," said Dexter, defending his hypothesis.

Buttercup did not answer. She only shrugged and walked around the porch.

Boomer looked over and saw that Bubbles was slowly moving towards him. Boomer gulped, and tried to relax, like he had earlier.

"Are…you okay?" asked Bubbles, while putting her hand on his arm gently. Boomer's heart felt like a jackhammer.

"Y-yeah…I'm…I'm alright," he said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah…thanks."

"It's okay."

Bubbles bit her bottom lip again, which Boomer had begun to identify as the signal that she was thinking deeply about something.

"Umm…Boomer?"

"Y-yes?" he said, apprehensive.

"About…before…" she began.

However, she was interrupted by a voice.

"Ahh, isn't this a Kodak moment?" said the voice, sarcastically.

Boomer heard the voice and was shocked.

_It sounds…just like mine,_ he thought.

Everyone turned to see the two figures that had appeared on the front yard. The villain in the white coat, Brisbaine, had appeared.

With him was a boy a black suit, with a small "R" emblem near the shoulder area. Boomer recognized it as the same kind of suit all the Rowdyruffs wore. Boomer also noticed something else about the boy.

He looked exactly like him. He wore a devilish smile.

_Blaine…_ thought Boomer.

* * *

Meanwhile, light-years away from the earth, Butch sat on an asteroid in the middle of space, deep in thought.

_I can't…_ he thought, angrily.

Butch fell to the ground and punched the surface of the asteroid with all his strength, creating a crack that spread through the surface of the asteroid. He took his anger out on the asteroid; anger he felt towards his brother, as well as himself.

"I CAN'T DO THIS!" he yelled out, angry. After much thought, he come to many realizations. He was angry at the decision he had come to.

"I CAN'T DO THIS!" he repeated.

The large crack began to spread throughout each size of the asteroid. It shook, as the very foundation of the rock began to rupture.

Butch jumped up from the asteroid as it began to crumble in upon itself, causing the smaller rocks on the surface to be swallowed within, until finally the asteroid broke apart and was scattered throughout the cosmos.

Angry at himself and the world, Butch flew out into the dark recesses of space, towards a destination that only he could determine.

* * *

"YOU!" yelled out Weasel, furious.

Boomer looked at Brisbaine and his doppelganger, shocked. He felt fear claw into the surface of his brain once again.

Buttercup, being the impulsive and aggressive person she was, waited no time. Upon the sight of Brisbaine, she felt her anger burst from within her. He leapt towards him, green light emitting from her feet. She flew at him, parallel to the ground.

Bubbles saw this and jumped up to join her assault, for she to had anger towards Brisbaine; more anger than Buttercup could even imagine. Bubbles flew at him as well, closing in. She raised her hand and began to charge a ball of blue lightning in her hand.

Brisbaine nudged Blaine, who grudgingly reached for the belt. He quickly pulled out two of the small orbs that lined the belt. He held one in each hand. He looked at Bubbles and Buttercup, both closing in fast, with looks of hate and anger in their eyes. Blaine pushed a small button on the top of each orb and threw them at both the Girls. His superhuman eyesight made aiming extremely easy.

The orbs flew at the Girls as they closed in, and there was a big, blue flash, that temporarily blinded all the onlookers on the porch. Boomer closed his eyes, the light being painful. After a moment, he peaked his eyes open and saw the result of the flash.

He saw that Bubbles and Buttercup were each incased in domes made of blue sparks, like they were trapped in an electric bubble. The sparks flickered throughout the air, like a bug zapper. Through the sparks, he could see Bubbles touch the electricity, and recoil, as if it had caused her pain.

"OW!" she cried, which made Boomer's heart ache. Her voice sounded like it was coming through static, like on a bad television station. "What is this thing?"

Brisbaine stepped forward, not having to fear them anymore.

"It's something to get you out of my way, dreary," said Brisbaine.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, BRISBAINE?" yelled Weasel, loudly. Near Weasel, Blossom inhaled air, obviously preparing to use her ice breath on Brisbaine and Blaine momentarily. Brick was nearby, summon all the energy who could, as if he wanted to shoot all his rage at Brisbaine.

"Oh, right, that reminds me," said Brisbaine, mockingly. "Blaine?"

Blaine smiled and picked another one from his belt.

"OH NO YOU DON'T," yelled Buttercup. Buttercup tried to use her eye lasers to break through, but it only succeeded in making the sparks flare outward.

Boomer had finally realized he was doing nothing.

_Do something, stupid,_ he thought to himself.

Blaine threw another orb into the air. It sailed past the domes Bubbles and Buttercup were incased in. Boomer saw it go over his head. He flew out of the porch, raised his hand, quickly charged some energy, and shot a blue spark at it.

Blaine saw this coming and shot a blue beam from his finger. It intercepted the blast that Boomer had let out, causing the energy to create a small explosive reaction, as the energy negated each other. The orb sailed past the explosion unaffected.

The orb landed on the Utonium's porch and created another large flash. Boomer averted his eyes. When the flash subsided, he saw that Coop, the Professor, Weasel, Brick, Blossom, Dexter, and Otto were all caught in this new dome. Boomer was luckily out of range.

However, Boomer thought something.

_Wait…my clone…he saw reacted pretty quick…did he expect me to do that? And if he did, why didn't he just through another one of those…things?_

Boomer did not have time to ponder this further at the moment. Weasel, from inside the dome, yelled out at Brisbaine.

"What is this!" yelled Weasel, through the static.

Brisbaine, no longer having to fear attack from the Girls, replied this comment calmly.

"Portable Electronic Containment Fields, or P.E.C.F's for short. Advanced technology built by the Cluster. They're to stop you all from…interfering. I imagine you already know all about them, don't you Weasel?"

Weasel did not reply.

"You know, I part of me hoped you were still alive after I made Blaine blow up your chopper. Because, if you had died, I would never be able to see you suffer. Fate is in my favor, it seems."

Brisbaine noticed Brick nearby Weasel, trying to break through the field futally.

"Hmm...I didn't expect to see you here, Brick. Perhaps your smarter than I gave you credit for. I seem to be underestimating people all over the place today."

"Shut up, you son of a bitch," said Brick.

Brisbaine smiled.

"How so unlike you, Brick? Losing your temper like that. You prototypes are becoming quite the thorn in my side. First Boomer's feelings, now your...interference. Seems that Butch is the only one who knows how to obey and mind his own business. You would think that eventually, children would learn to listen to their fathers."

"You're not dad of mine!"

"Well, no matter. This is yet another minor inconvience. I still have your backup, thankfully. You can die, since that seems to be what you desire."

The sight of Brisbaine acting so smug angered Boomer. He raised his hand and began to charge energy in his hand.

"Let them go, Brisbaine," said Boomer, trying not to sound nervous or afraid.

Brisbaine saw Boomer charge the energy and he let out a laugh that cut through Boomer like a knife.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, child," said Brisbaine. "If you even try to do attack me, I will have Blaine blast these fields from the outside. A blast from outside the field strong enough could cause the electric energy to overload and cave in upon, detonating it all inside. I don't think your friends will live very long after being imploded inside such a small, confined area.

Boomer, ashamed he could not do anything, lowered his hand.

_Why…why can I never do anything?_ He thought.

"I thought so," said Brisbaine, after Boomer lowered his hand.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU," interrupted Buttercup, once again repeating her futile attempts to break through the fields.

"Try all you want, Powerpuff, but you won't be able to break through that," said Brisbaine, walking around the field, taunting her. "Energy from the inside of the dome only strengthens the field. Only energy from outside can cause any real damage."

"Why Brisbaine?" yelled Weasel. "WHY DO THIS?"

Brisbaine looked over at Weasel.

"Why? Why what? Why want to do this to the Rowdys? Why manipulate everyone? Why go through all this trouble? It's obvious isn't it? I want control."

Brisbaine walked closer to Weasel.

"My work before now has been overshadowed. Everytime I made a discovery, it made no difference. It all seemed insignificant. I sought to unravel the inner workings of the human genome, but what did everyone care about?"

Brisbaine pointed at the Professor.

"Three girls created by shear buffoonery. Nobody appreciates true genius. So…long ago I realized that I had to…learn from the competition. If I could not be appreciated, I would MAKE myself appreciated. Upon chance, I happened upon the Darkstar Council, who shared my own ideals."

"So..." said Brick. "You wanted to do all this...kill us all...take over the world...just because you're feel freaking insecure?"

"Why not?" replied Brisbaine. "If Napoleon could do it, why couldn't I? But it's not just about that. Don't you see the power of this? Within my grasp, I have the ability to clone beings made of pure Chemical X. Chemical X…energy reduced to its simplest form. An army that has pure, liquid energy coursing through every vain in their body. With that army, the world would be unified. The world would bask at the genius that could create such power."

Suddenly, an unexpected voice shouted out.

"YOU'RE AN INSANE &$&$!"

Brisbaine turned back and saw Bubbles yelling, tears in her eyes. Everyone looked over at Bubbles, astonished at this change of character.

"You want to kill him…you want to kill Boomer…just because you want people to like you? How could you be so selfish? You wanted to kill all of them…and you don't even care! You're no genius. You're…you're…WORTHLESS."

Brisbaine stared at her, stunned for a moment. Then he laughed once again.

"Worthless?" he said. "I think not. But do not worry…once Boomer is gone…you will join him soon enough. After all…his inconvenient feelings are partially your fault, after all."

Boomer's eyes widened. He glared, beginning to feel sparks course through his palms again.

"Don't talk to her like that," said Boomer, furious.

Brisbaine looked back at him, taking notice of his rising energy.

"Young man, have you forgotten I can kill your friends with a wave of my hand? Perhaps I should make Blaine destroy some of your friends before I turn him on you…just to show you."

Brisbaine looked over at Buttercup. He pointed at her.

"BLAINE! DESTROY THAT ONE! SHOW HIM NOT TO DEFY ME!"

Blaine looked over at Brisbaine and smiled, but he did not move.

"What are you doing? I gave you an order," said Brisbaine.

Blaine's smiled widened.

"Shut the &#$& up," said Blaine, cheerfully.

"WHAT?" said Brisbaine, furious.

Before Brisbaine could react, Blaine pulled another orb from the belt and hurled it at Brisbaine. The blue flash blinded Boomer yet again, and once it receded, Brisbaine was inside the field. He was yelling over the static.

"BLAINE! LET RELEASE ME THIS INSTANT!" said Brisbaine.

Blaine put his hand to his head in a mocking manor, as if he was thinking.

"Um…let me think about that…how about…this?" said Blaine, before flipping Brisbaine an indecent hand gesture.

Boomer looked at Blaine, astonished. This clone was nothing like the fake Butch; this one seemed disturbed...but intelligent. Blaine's face was identical to his. His voice was exactly the same. But his demeanor, his attitude was completely opposite of Boomers. It was an eerie feeling.

Boomer was confused. Weasel had made it seem like Blaine intended to kill him, because Brisbaine willed it. But Blaine seemed to not care for Brisbaine.

_What does this mean?_ He thought. _What is he thinking? Whose side is this guy on?_

Brisbaine gnawed his teeth, furious.

"I AM YOUR CREATOR! I'M IN CHARGE! LET ME FREE!" he said.

Blaine looked upwards and chuckled.

"You're in charge?" he said, amused. "Since when? Do you have super-strength?"

Brisbaine did not answer; He knew Blaine knew he did not.

"Can you shoot energy from your hands? Can you fly? Can you do anything yourself? No. You need me. The way I see it, I run this show!"

Brisbaine, becoming more angry by each passing second, yelled.

"You double-crosser!"

Blaine maintained his smile as he leaned towards Brisbaine, the field being the only separation between there faces.

"Do you not understand? Maybe we should review…" he said, cynically. "You see…you can't do anything. I hold all the cards. All you do is talk, and that takes up my valuable time. I've heard enough of your repetative whining for two lifetimes."

"When I get out of here…"

"Don't worry, 'Pops.' You'll get what you want."

Boomer looked up at this, confused. Brisbaine also had a similar expression, as well as everyone listening.

"What?" said Brisbaine.

"I said, you'll get what you want. That is to say, Boomer in a coffin. I just wanted you to know one thing…and one thing only."

For the first time, Blaine broke his smile and looked dead serious.

"You need to know…I'm in charge. You're nothing. You're never be anything except nothing. And just to remind you, the only thing keeping you alive right now is that I don't feel like wasting my energy on you. I have far bigger fish to fry."

Blaine walked away from Brisbaine, who had a shocked expression on his face.

Boomer looked at Blaine. He doesn't like Brisbaine, but he's doing what he want. Blaine wanted to kill him.

_But…why?_ Thought Boomer. _Why is he like this?_

All eyes were on Blaine. He turned to Boomer.

"Now then…where were we, Brother?" said Blaine. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced."

Blaine mockingly bowed his head.

"My name is Blaine. I'll be your murderer today."

* * *


	14. Eyes, Look Your Last

"My name is Blaine. I'll be your murderer today."

Blaine's words cut through Boomer's psyche like a magnum right against the temple of his head. The words of this bad twin, using his own voice in such a manner filled Boomer with an unexplainable fear. It was as if he was watching a nightmare, seeing himself do things which he would never do. But this was not a nightmare; Boomer was awake, and unfortunately, the world itself is more frightening than the darkest nightmare.

Boomer looked upon his doppelganger and gulped.

_Why…why does he want to kill me?_ Thought Boomer.

Boomer was about to summon the courage to ask this, but Blaine cut him short.

"I know what you're thinking," said Blaine, behind that sinister smile.

Boomer looked up from the ground. Boomer was not used to hearing anyone identify with his feelings, because he felt no one understood him, with the possible exception of Bubbles.

"What? Did I shock you" continued Blaine. "Come on, think about it. We're both virtually identically, at least in the genetic sense. We're both made up of the same chromosomes, genomes, and everything, so logically we must think somewhat alike."

Boomer finally overcame enough of his fear to speak.

"You and I are not alike. You're…"

"Crazy?" finished Blaine. "Maybe I am. You really shouldn't say that about me."

"I-I didn't say that. You did."

"But you were going to, weren't you?"

Boomer didn't reply, because he was right.

"Well, the way I see it, you've got a lot of gall to call someone ELSE crazy," said Blaine.

At this, Bubble's voice rang out from behind the electric dome.

"Hey! Don't you talk to him like that!" shouted Bubbles.

Under normal circumstances, Boomer would have probably blushed at such a caring display of affection towards himself. However, at the moment, the feelings from Boomer's hear were currently drowned out by the fear in his brain.

Blaine turned and looked back at Bubbles, not expecting her to shout out. Blaine slowly walked over to her field.

"Listen, girl," said Blaine. "I've no problem with you, at the moment. I suggest you stay out of this, for your own safety. This moment belongs to me and Brother. You don't belong in this. Three's a crowd, as they say."

"Why don't you shut your face before I break it?" said Buttercup from the other dome nearby, furious.

Blaine did not acknowledge Buttercup's comment and continued speaking.

"As I was saying before that imbecile interrupted, I'd appreciate you to be voluntarily silent before I make it physically impossible for you to speak."

Boomer saw that, and some part of his brain click. Boomer found a well in his brain that contained all of his pent up anger. Anger towards Butch, Brisbaine, everyone, and released it. Boomer suddenly found the strength to yell out, with all the force it was possible to put in his own voice.

"DON'T EVER TALK TO HER LIKE THAT! EVER!"

Blaine turned back, looking amused.

"Oh," he said, advancing on Boomer. "Have I struck a nerve, Brother? I thought I would. But…before you react…I would like to tell you one very important thing…"

Blaine stood in front of Boomer, looking as if he was about to say something. But instead, Blaine lept off the ground quickly and shot his leg out into the left side of Boomer's face. Boomer was propelled across the ground, skidding against dirt, grass and rocks on the lawn. Boomer could vaguely hear Bubbles yell over the sound of his head ringing.

Blaine looked down on him, no longer smiling. He wore the look he gave Brisbaine only moments earlier.

"Don't…EVER raise your voice to me, Brother!" he said. "In case you haven't noticed, I can get offended easily. And, unlike with you, when I get offended, people get hurt. And I don't mean emotionally."

Boomer slowly brought himself up, putting his hand to his head. He looked back to Blaine, who looked like he was preparing himself for a fight.

"Stand up, Brother," he said. "And face your death head on!"

Boomer crouched down and looked into Blaine's eyes. An odd feeling came over Boomer. His eyes were exactly like his own in the physical sense, but there was something different about them. Something darker, in a way other than its shade of color.

"Why?" asked Boomer, wincing at his headache. "Why are you doing this?"

At this, Brisbaine, who had been silent for sometime, shouted out.

"He's doing it because he's knows how to take orders," said Brisbaine. "Although his attitude leaves much to be desired. But-"

"SHUT THE $& UP, YOU WORTHLESS SACK OF $&$," shouted Blaine, turning back towards him.

Through the field, Boomer could see Brisbaine have an annoyed expression on his face. Regardless of this, he did shut up.

Blaine turned back to Boomer.

"Why?" he said. "Why doesn't matter now. Telling you why would only waste time. You couldn't possibly understand."

Boomer did not like Blaine one bit, but Boomer couldn't bring himself to fight him unless he knew why this boy, this person who looked exactly like him, hated him with such passion.

"I…if you're going to try to kill me, I think I deserve an explanation," said Boomer.

"You don't deserve anything, aside from despair."

Boomer looked over at the field Bubbles was in. She was staring at him, with a worried look on her face. Boomer looked back at her, hoping that their small eye contact could offer her some comfort; however, Boomer doubted this.

Boomer looked at Blaine, who had moved so close to Boomer he was almost on top of him. Boomer remained crouched down.

"Get up," said Blaine, irritably.

Boomer said nothing.

Blaine threw his hand back and backhanded Boomer across his jaw. Boomer's face fell, and he felt blood gush in his mouth.

"I said, get up. Now!" said Blaine.

Brick yelled out from the largest field.

"Get your hands off my brother, dammit!"

Bubbles joined the chorus.

"Stop hurting him!"

Buttercup yelled as well.

"You know, you really are an asshole!"

The Professor, Dexter, Weasel, Otto, and Coop from the largest field joined in.

"How could you?" yelled the Professor.

"You vile piece of filth!" yelled Weasel.

"You can't do that to our friend!" yelled Dexter.

"You're a terrible person!" yelled Otto.

"That's not cool, dude. That's just not cool," yelled Coop.

They continued to yell, their distinct voices clashing together to make a loud, barely decipherable mass of noise. Blaine heard this and his left eye began to twitch he looked down for a moment, then threw his head upward and yelled out, throwing a fit.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! WHY ARE SUCH LOWER LIFEFORMS BORN WITH VOCAL CORDS!"

Blaine reached down and grabbed Boomer by the collar, as everyone else continued to shout.

"Tell them to shut up!" said Blaine. "Tell them to stay out of this! I have to do this! That cannot be changed?"

"Why the hell not?" said Boomer, spitting out blood on the ground.

"Tell them to shut up!" said Blaine, clearly irritated by the shouting.

Boomer noticed Blaine's irritation and used it to his advantage.

"I'm not telling them anything until you tell me why you're doing this," said Boomer.

Blaine stared at Boomer for a moment, then began to laugh. He let go off Boomer's collar, causing him to slump back to the ground.

"You're all so stupid," he said, laughing. He turned away from Blaine. "Why do you think? I'm curious. Why? Because I'm born that way? That I'm just some homicidal maniac? That I'm just plain evil?"

Boomer didn't reply, because he honestly didn't know.

Blaine dropped his head, laughing.

"Let me tell you something, Brother. 'Evil' is merely a hallow word used by the ignorant to justify themselves as righteous. Right and wrong do not exist. Good and evil are make-believe. There is no conscience…at least not for me."

Boomer recalled what the Professor had said earlier.

" _The definition of a sociopath is that he can't tell right from wrong."_

_He wasn't kidding,_ thought Boomer.

Blaine turned back to Boomer.

"I mean, my God," he said, still giggling. "You really can't figure it out, can you? Damn, I'm ashamed to share you genes."

Boomer stared back at him, thinking about how mysterious and scary his clone was.

"Pop quiz, hotshot," said Blaine, smiling. "How old are you?"

Boomer raised an eyebrow.

"What does that have to do-"

Blaine's expression changed quick as lightning. He glared at Boomer.

"ANSWER THE QUESTION! WHEN DID THEY FIRST START MAKING YOU? HOW LONG!"

Boomer flinched, despite himself. He tried to recall when how long it was since he was 'brought back'.

"T-two years, I guess," said Boomer.

"And how long were you in that tube? How long were you in there?" said Blaine, with mock curiosity.

Boomer thought for a minute.

"Two months, I gue-"

"Two months," shouted Blaine. "Did everybody hear that? Two months!"

He turned back to Boomer and got uncomfortably close to him.

"Do you get it now?" whispered Blaine, with malice. "Do you understand?"

Before Boomer could say anything, Blaine turned away again.

"Of course you don't," he said. "Let me give you a hint. Got your &$$ing pen and paper ready?"

Blaine turned back to him.

"Here's the hint. You and I are the same age. Exactly the same age. Born, if you can even call it that, at the exact same time. Get it yet? Do you see?"

Boomer didn't see whatever it was he was supposed to be seeing. Blaine instantly realized this and got angry once again.

"Of course you don't! You're so simple. So blind. Which, ironically, is part of the reason for this."

Blaine clapped his hands extremely close to Boomer's face, much to Boomer's shock.

"Wake up!" said Blaine. "Alright, let me ask you this. We were both born at the exact same time. You were released from that tube after two months. We're both technically two years old. So…"

Blaine leaned in close, glaring at Boomer. Boomer's eyes widened and began to feel like he was about to be hurt not long from now.

"Where do you think I've been during all the time you were out of your tube?"

Boomer looked down, trying to assemble Blaine's disjointed message.

"Do you know?" asked Blaine. "I'll tell you. I've still been in that damn tube! Slowly growing…but unlike you, I was completely aware of all of it!"

Boomer looked up in Blaine's fiery eyes, shocked.

Blaine closed his eyes and snickered.

"Now do you see? Because I was made to be just a freaking back-up, I've been stuck in that tube. For two years, completely aware of my surroundings, unable to do anything."

Blaine pointed his thumb behind him, towards Brisbaine.

"Thankfully, that idiot let me out, after all that time."

Boomer looked down, and tried to imagine being trapped in a tube for two years. Being able to see others go by, unable to move, floating there, all too aware of each passing second. Boomer couldn't help but feel some pity for Blaine.

"Yes, being stuck there was a bitch," continued Blaine. "But that's not why I'm doing this…no…it's because of you!"

Without warning, Blaine grabbed Boomer by the hair and lifted him up. Boomer winced, as the pulling intensified his headache. Bubbles shouted out angrily.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"Illustrating a point," said Blaine, glaring back at her. He turned his attention back to Boomer.

"You and I are so very different," he said.

Boomer looked back at him and couldn't agree more. Blaine's grip on his hair tightened.

"Here is a perfect example of why I'm not your biggest fan," continued Blaine. "I've been talking for a while now. Any sane person who knew how to take advantage of the trust offered to them would have used that opportunity to attack, get the jump on their opponent, save their worthless friends.

"But not you. Why? Why not?"

Boomer looked back at him, wincing in pain.

"I…I felt sorry for you. I couldn't just…just attack you without a reason."

Blaine drove his spare fist into Boomer's stomach. Boomer's head bent down and his mouth spewed out blood. He coughed repeatedly.

Meanwhile, Blaine continued his monologue.

"That is why we are different. You let your feelings get in the way of the opportunities offered to you. Sentimentality just cost you the chance to save your friends."

Boomer coughed. Even though Boomer didn't like to admit it, Blaine was right, and he felt like scum for that.

"And it goes deeper than that. While you moved about the world, I lied in that goddamned tube. I was completely aware of everything you were doing in that godforsaken lab. Your existence is a waste. You had the freedom and power to do whatever you wanted, make this world whatever you wanted. And what do you do?"

Blaine shook Boomer by the hair, back and forth.

"You stand there silent, looking like an idiot, watching events pass you buy, forsaking any and all control. You wish the world was someway, but you lacked any will to make it the way you wanted. You always let those feelings of yours get in the way. Fear, sentimentality, inadequacy, self-pity. It is an insult to life itself.

"Even though I had the will to do something, YOU were the one allowed to roam free about the world. I should have been free. And now you expect me, after watching you waste such freedom, allow you to continue living? I can not allow something with my face, with my voice, to be such a waste. That's just an insult."

Blaine lifted up his spare hand and drew power into it.

"We have godlike strength. We have the power to do anything. The only difference between us is that you allow your conscience, your feelings, your sensitivity, and above all, your fear to get to you. I am not going to make the same mistake."

Blaine closed his fist and punched Boomer again in the stomach, making more blood spew from his mouth.

"If I want something, I will use this power to make it so. If I want something, it will be mine. If I believe something to be wrong, I will destroy it. I will use this power to fulfill all my desires. I will take full advantage of my freedom and will. After all, the way I see it, with all my power, this is my world; you all just happen to live in it."

Boomer meditated on these words. Any previous pity he had for Blaine melted away once he heard his ideology.

_It's not right…I can't let him do that,_ thought Boomer.

Boomer, trying to ignore the pain he was in, summoned the strength to move his foot in an upward arc. Unfortunately, Blaine saw this and grabbed it. He let go of Boomer's hair and threw Boomer's foot up the air, making him flip back.

Boomer took advantage of his temporary mobility to become airborne.

"Y…you're wrong, Blaine," yelled Boomer, with all the force he could muster. "You think that just because you have power, you can do whatever you want. That just because you're strong, you're right?"

"No," said Blaine, assuming a fighting pose. "I don't think I'm right because I'm strong. I just happen to believe I'm right, and happen to have the strength to assert that belief. It's quite a timesaver."

"You're wrong," said Boomer, looking down, balling his fist. "I didn't know what was right for a long time…but now I do. I think I do. We can't just use this power for ourselves. To do what we want! Looking out for only yourself…that never leads to happiness…I've come to learn…that making those close to you…making those close to you happy…is the only way to attain true happiness."

Down below, Bubbles looked up at Boomer in admiration. And several yards away, Brick looked up at Boomer as well, envying his conviction.

"Using your power for only yourself fulfills nothing," said Boomer. "You think my feelings prevent me from having happiness, and a while ago, I might have thought you were right. But now I've come to realize something. Love is the only true happiness there is. These feelings stop me from doing things, and sometimes the fear does get to me. But now I know these feelings can make me overcome that, and make me stronger than ever possible. Strength is nothing unless you have someone to use it FOR."

Down below, everyone in the fields looked up at Boomer, shocked at his sudden courage. Even Brisbaine was astounded at how much he had changed.

"The powers I was born with were amazing," said Boomer. "But, now the strength of my heart makes me even stronger. Blaine…"

Boomer balled his fist up more and yelled out.

"WITHOUT ANYONE TO USE YOUR POWER, YOU WILL NEVER KNOW TRUE STRENGTH!"

Blaine looked up at Boomer and scoffed.

"I did not come here for your idiotic poetry," he said. "And your talk of the power of heart only makes you look like a deranged Captain Planet…but…"

Blaine looked down, smirking.

"If that is truly how you feel, perhaps we should test this theory of yours out."

Boomer raised his eyebrows.

"What are you-" he said, but Blaine interrupted once again.

"You claim love makes you stronger, that it can give you the strength to defeat me. Well…how about this?"

Blaine reached behind his back towards his belt, and felt around. After a moment, he tripped a button.

Nearby, Bubbles' field began to flicker and fade. She looked at it perplexed. Before she could react, the field was down and Blaine zoomed quickly towards her, moving so fast he was a blur. He got behind her and put his left arm around her neck, restraining her. Bubbles winced as her throat had the pressure of his arm put on it.

Boomer looked down in horror.

"BUBBLES!" said Boomer.

Boomer quickly flew down, blue light zooming from his feet. As he closed in on them, Blaine lifted his right hand, and blue sparks began to cascade from it as the power filled it.

"One more inch and she's a corpse!" yelled Blaine, grinning.

Boomer reluctantly slowed down and stopped. He glared at Blaine. Not a few hours ago, Boomer didn't think it was possible for him to truly hate anyone; now he was prove wrong.

"Where is that strength of love now?" said Blaine. "Love is a weakness, you see. It is no strength. I wish to defeat you, Brother. But there is more than one way to defeat someone. Brother…the choice is yours."

"What are you getting at, Blaine?" said Boomer.

"You have a choice. This is your ultimatum. If you try to attack me, the girl dies."

Boomer looked at Bubbles, who was struggling against Blaine, prodding, struggling, and violently attacking against Blaine to try to escape, but Blaine endured the pain of her attempts; he was far too determined to let go at those attempts. She stared out to Boomer, clearly feeling ashamed she was like this.

"But…I will let her go, Brother. On one condition…"

"Anything! Just name it!" yelled Boomer.

"I'll let her go…all you have to do…is take your finger, like the one I have now..."

Boomer listened. He was prepared to do anything.

"All you had to do," said Blaine, smiling. "Is take your finger and blow your brains out! It's your choice. And I warn you, I'm not a patient person."

Boomer looked at Blaine. Then he looked at Bubbles. He looked around at all his friends still in the fields.

Boomer looked down at his hand.

"Tick tock, Brother," said Blaine.

From the field, Brick yelled out, worried.

"Don't do it, Boomer! Don't listen to him!" yelled Brick.

Boomer stared at his own hand, and the weight it now held. He looked into Bubbles big blue eyes. He looking into them, and surprisingly smiled.

Boomer looked down at his hand.

"What choice do I have?" he whispered.

"DAMMIT, BOOMER, DON'T DO IT!" yelled Brick.

"Listen to him, Boomer!" yelled Bubbles, in Blaine's grasp. "Don't listen to him! I'll be fine!"

Boomer looked at his hand and closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry…for everything…everyone," he said.

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DON'T $&$ING DO IT!" yelled Brick.

Everyone else in the field yammered indistinct yells at Boomer.

Buttercup desperately tried to break out of her field so she could do something, but to no avail.

Boomer's hand shook, then he steadied it. He slowly began to raise it closer to his head. Blue energy began to fill it.

"DON'T DO IT!" yelled Brick.

"STOP IT, BOOMER! DON'T!" yelled Bubbles.

"Shut up, all of you!" yelled Blaine. "It's his decision, whether he wants to die on the inside or the outside."

Boomer remained still. His hand was filled with energy.

_I never thought…it would be like this,_ thought Boomer.

His hand began to shake with energy. Sparks cascaded from his hand, as power began to charge in it. It was like Boomer's finger was a dam for power, and behind that dam was a monster tsunami.

"GODDAMMIT, DON'T DO IT!" yelled Brick.

Boomer's eyes remained closed. Boomer didn't expect his demise to be like this. He expected to be more afraid, but…somehow Boomer knew what he was doing was right. He was sacrificing himself for the greater good. He was sacrificing himself for the women he loved more than anything.

There were much worse ways to die.

"DONNNNN'T!" yelled Bubbles.

"Goodbye…I love you," he said.

* * *

Brick couldn't watch. At the Boomer's words, he turned away. These were the noises he heard:

WHAM!

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

Thud!

Then, for a moment, there was only silence.


	15. The Face of Heaven

Brick's eyes widened at the sounds he heard from behind, followed by the silence. He remained silent, but inside, every corner of his mind screamed in agony. His stomach became knotted at he felt as if a large man had struck him in the chest once he heard the "Thud."

_No…no…it can't be. It just can't!_ thought Brick, still turned away. He felt his eyes grow hot and wet.

He looked over to Weasel and the others, who were looking outward with shocked looks on their faces. Brick couldn't bear to look.

Suddenly, someone said something.

"Whoa…dude, look!" said Coop, pointing outward.

Brick turned. Brick didn't exactly know what ghastly sight he expected to see once he turned around, mostly because he couldn't bear to visualize. But, whatever he was expecting, this sight certainly wasn't it.

Brick's jaw lowered.

"What…the hell?" he said.

* * *

Several minutes ago…

* * *

"What choice do I have?" Boomer whispered.

Bubbles looked out in horror as Boomer bowed down to Blaine's cruel ultimatum. She struggled to get free, but Blaine's arm around her neck would not let free. Jerking at his arm, wiggling, even biting did nothing. Bubble's was ashamed that she could have been taken by surprise like this, and horrified that now it might mean the end of Boomer's life.

_No…no, he wouldn't,_ thought Bubbles. _He can't._

"DAMMIT, BOOMER, DON'T DO IT!" yelled Brick from another field.

_I can't let him do this,_ thought Bubbles, staring at Boomer.

"Listen to him, Boomer!" she yelled out. "Don't listen to him! I'll be fine!"

Boomer looked at his hand and closed his eyes. Bubble's eyes widened in horror.

"I'm sorry…for everything…everyone," he said.

_No! Why is he doing this?_ thought Bubbles.

Then, as if to answer her question, her mind recalled that moment, hours ago, at the playground when Boomer theatrically revealed his love for her.

Immediately, Bubbles felt terrible.

_He's doing this because of me,_ she thought.

Brick yelled out something to Boomer, among the yells of horror from everyone else, but Bubbles blocked them out of her mind.

_This is all my fault. Boomer's gonna die because of me._

Then Bubbles realized this would be the second time she had killed Boomer.

Boomer began to raise his hand to his head and blue energy began to charge in it. Desperate, Bubbles called out to Boomer once again.

"STOP IT, BOOMER! DON'T!" yelled Bubbles.

"Shut up, all of you!" yelled Blaine. "It's his decision, whether he wants to die on the inside or the outside."

Bubble's glared in anger at Blaine.

_How could he even do this to Boomer? For almost no good reason?_

Inside, her heart burned with a rage that could not accurately be described by any adjectives in the English language. The fact that her struggling could not allow her to break free and do anything about it only intensified that anger.

Boomer's hand began to shake, as it filled with power.

_It can't end like this,_ yelled Bubbles inside her own head. _He can't die like this!_

Bubbles thought back to how they talked on the couch only less than an hour ago; however, now it seemed like an eternity had passed since then.

_He's nice, and sweet, and he's been through so much…it can't end like this! Especially since I…_

_I…_

Love knows no logic or thought. It comes when you least expect it. At one point, it just dawns on you, and nothing you can say or do can make you believe it was just a fleeting thought. Suddenly, your mind and heart realize it's a fact and refuse to let you forget it.

Boomer's eyes were closed and his finger was up to his head, flowing with energy.

"GODDAMMIT, DON'T DO IT!" yelled Brick.

_There has to be something I can do,_ thought Bubbles, terrified.

She tried desperately to think of someway to get out of this; someway to stop Boomer from doing this, but she couldn't think fast enough.

Boomer looked like he was ready to carry out his sacrifice.

Bubbles, with tears forming in her eyes, yelled out.

"DONNNNN'T!" yelled Bubbles.

"Goodbye…" said Boomer, eyes closed. "I love you."

At that moment, all her recent memories of Boomer fled through her mind; the playground, him at the house, their talk, his dramatic speech to Blaine, and now his attempt to sacrifice himself.

And with those memories of love, with it came a great hatred for Blaine. All the fury she had kept inside intensified a thousand fold.

Suddenly, without even thinking, she preformed an action that changed the fate of everyone that day.

She looked down at her feet, and realized that she was still able to move those. Without a second thought, she bent her knee, and threw her left heel backwards as hard as humanly possible. The foot connected with Blaine's body, in a certain unprotected area of the male anatomy.

WHAM!

Blaine, caught completely off guard, yelled out in extreme pain.

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

Blaine fell down to the ground backwards, relinquishing his grip of Bubbles in doing so.

Thud!

Blaine lay on the ground, in pain, muttering curses.

Bubble's looked over Boomer, who had lowered his hand in the confusion.

_Thank God,_ she thought.

Once she saw that Boomer was alright, she turned her attention back to Blaine, who was trying to get up, but still clearly in pain. Bubbles, glaring down at him, grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up. Blaine had a look of pure contempt in his eyes. Bubbles charged energy in the hand she was lifting him with, surging blue sparks in his neck. The excess sparks danced through the air, making it look like a fireworks show gone horribly wrong.

"Whoa…dude, look!" said Coop from the field he was in.

Bubbles glanced over and saw Brick with a look of shock on his face. Bubbles shrugged that off and pumped more energy in her palm to shock Blaine.

Blaine yelled out in pain.

"Hot enough for you?" said Bubbles, smiling sinisterly at his pain.

Blaine, furious, finally spoke.

"You little bitch! What the hell was that? Kicking me in the nads? What is wrong with you, you sick bitch! Playing dirty like that?"

Bubbles glared and shocked him again, causing him to grunt loudly.

"I'm playing dirty!" said Bubbles, angry. "You've got room to talk! Taking me hostage and trying to make Boomer kill himself…and you say I'm playing dirty! Well, maybe I am, but at least I didn't go as low as you!"

"This isn't your fight, women! It's between me and Brother. Who the hell do you think you are interfering?"

Bubbles looked down at him, without any sign of regret or mercy. Even though Bubbles is nice and forgiving, she had no amount of forgiveness for what he tried to do.

Boomer, noticing what Blaine had said about Bubbles, walked up to him.

"Don't you talk to her like that!" said Boomer, walking next to Bubbles.

Blaine glanced over at him, and smiled through his pain.

"Brother, how does it feel to hide behind a women?" he said.

Bubbles did not take kindly to that statement and tightened her grip on his neck, and pumped another burst of blue sparks into him.

"You wanna know who I think I am?" she said. She picked him off the ground, swung her arm back, and threw him by the neck into the electric field Buttercup was housed in. Blaine was hurled through the air and landed on the field, which shocked him as if he had fallen on an electric fence. After a moment of shouting and searing pain, he thudded to the ground. Bubbles channeled blue sparks in her hands and he tried to get up from the ground.

"I'm hardcore now!" she shouted as she put her hands together and shot a huge beam of blue light at Blaine. The beam pierced through the air, the sparks from it so strong the hair on the back of everyone's neck stood up. Blaine saw the beam coming, and for the first time since he had been there, had a look of fear on his face. The beam collided with him, engulfing him like a wave engulfs a hermit crab on the beach. Once the beam had hit, Blaine stood still for a moment, then fell to the ground, his clothes smoking from the blast.

"Jesus tap-dancing Christ!" yelled Weasel, aghast. "I don't think he's getting up for a while after that."

Buttercup seeing looked down at Blaine.

"He's not moving…you might have killed him. After THAT, I'm wouldn't be surprised," she said.

Bubbles looked outward for a minute, to see if Blaine would get up, but he did not. He seemed to be out cold.

* * *

"Whoa," said Boomer, after seeing Bubbles' display of uninhibited fury. Never in a million year did he think that she would be able to do that at the last minute. Boomer was truly prepared to die. He was one second from ending his life for what he believe in when Bubbles saved the day.

_What a girl,_ he thought.

Bubbles, remembering Boomer was standing right next to her, turned and smiled.

"You okay?" she asked, looking him over to see if he was hurt any.

"Yeah…" he said, looking down, embarrassed.

"Good," she said.

Boomer looked down, not sure what to say. It's hard to think of something to say when you didn't expect to live this long.

Suddenly, he felt Bubbles' grip on his arm. He looked up and saw she was very close to him, with a serious look in her eyes.

"Don't ever scare me like that again," she said. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

Boomer looked down, ashamed. He knew Bubbles would feel bad if he had carried out what he planned to do, but he only did it so she would be safe.

"I…I…" stammered Boomer, but he had no idea what to say.

He glanced up at Bubbles, who was staring into his eyes.

"It's okay," she said after a long moment of silence. "I…I know you were just doing what you though was best. But still…how do you think I would have felt if I known you would have died because of me?"

Boomer was surprised and horrified to see that there were tears in Bubbles' eyes. Boomer tried to find words to comfort her, but he couldn't think of anything that would do justice. Yet again, Boomer felt like scum.

Boomer looked down and tears began to form in his eyes as well.

Then, much to his surprise, Bubbles pulled Boomer towards her and embraced him.

"I'm…I'm just glad you're alive," she said, crying. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Boomer remained still in Bubbles' arms for a moment.

_She…she really cares,_ thought Boomer. Once again, a warm feeling spread throughout Boomer's chest, and tears began to form in Boomer's eyes.

Boomer hesitated for a moment, then wrapped his arms around Bubbles as well. They remained in each others arms for only a few seconds. Boomer wanted it to last forever.

"Umm…I hate to break up the moment, but could one of you let us out of here?" said Blossom, from the field. The Professor, Weasel, and others in the electric field nodded in agreement.

Boomer and Bubbles looked over at them, then looked at eachother, embarrassed. They quickly parted and looked in opposite direction.

"Yeah. He's not going anywhere," said Buttercup, pointing to Blaine. "Then, when you let us out, we can figure out what to do with Laughing Boy over there."

Buttercup pointed to the dome in which Brisbaine was confined. Right now, Brisbaine was standing in disbelief at what had just occurred moments ago.

Boomer, who had honestly forgot about Brisbaine during the whole ordeal, thought about what Buttercup would do when she got her hands on him, and smiled.

Boomer felt as if someone was staring at him and looked up to see Bubbles staring at him. He looked behind her to see Brick was staring at him to.

"What is it?" he asked.

"You smiled," said Brick, over the static.

"I've never seen you do that before," said Bubbles.

"He hasn't," replied Brick.

Boomer, who hadn't even realized he had smiled looked down.

"I guess…I have something to smile about now," he said, looking at Bubbles. Bubbles' smiled back.

"Ahem," said Buttercup. "Remember the whole letting us out thing?"

"Oh right," said Bubbles. "I'll do it."

Bubbles looked over at Blaine's body, covered by now burnt clothes, once again, to confirm he was not moving. She walked over near Blaine's body and reached for the belt.

Suddenly, his hand shot up and grabbed her wrist. His eyes popped open and he smiled.

"Hello," he said. "I've gotcha now."

Quickly, he reached onto his belt with his free left hand and grabbed an orb from the belt.. Before Bubbles could break away, he threw it at her and rolled out of the way as a blue flash engulfed the area. Once it subsided, Bubbles was in the field.

Boomer, shocked at seeing Blaine up so quick, assumed a fighting position.

Blaine threw his feet out and became airborne. He stretched his arms and legs.

"Ah, much better," he said. "You have no idea how frustrating it was to stay still that long."

Boomer looked at him in disbelief.

"How could you get up after that?" said Boomer.

Blaine looked down and laughed.

"If you think a fancy lightshow was going to be the end of me, you're sadly mistaken," he said. "I admit, your whore's blast was very painful, but it wasn't nearly enough to threaten my life."

Boomer's eyes glared angrily at him.

"What did you say!" he said.

Once again, Blaine laughed.

"It doesn't take much to get on your nerves. You are so predictable, Brother," he said. "Honestly, you didn't think it would be THAT easy, did you?"

Boomer didn't reply. Boomer looked past Blaine at Bubbles, to make sure she was alright. She starred back at him worried, but Boomer gave a half smile, as if he was trying to say he knew everything would be alright.

In truth, Boomer wasn't sure.

"Alright, Brother," yelled Blaine from above. "How about a deal?"

Boomer didn't say anything.

"No more dirty tricks. No more hostages. No more interference. Just you and me. Man to man. Brother against brother." said Blaine.

Boomer looked up at Blaine for a moment. He began to charge blue sparks in his hands, surging out through the air.

"I'll take that as a yes," said Blaine.

Then, Blaine looked around down below at all Boomer and Bubbles' allies. Mockingly, he began to yell in an announcer's voice.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he said. "The moment you've all been waiting for is close at hand! You've got front row seats! Now witness…the death of Boomer!"

Boomer looked up, trying to prepare himself mentally.

It's been a long performance, but now it's the final act. The grand finale is close.

Our story is nearly done.


	16. A Challenge on My Life

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Blaine said. "The moment you've all been waiting for is close at hand! You've got front row seats! Now witness…the death of Boomer!"

Boomer took a deep breath and prepared himself. He looked up at his nemesis, who was hovering high above him like a bird of prey, stalking a small rodent, like a rat or a vole.

_Ok…I can't avoid this anymore,_ thought Boomer. _I don't like fighting…but…if I don't, this psycho is going to hurt people…_

"Boomer!"

Boomer looked up at Bubbles, calling from behind the static dome Blaine had encased her in.

"Be careful!" she shouted, clearly worried.

Boomer, trying to reassure her, gave a weak smile.

_I hope I can do this,_ thought Boomer.

From behind the static domes, his other friends were calling to him.

"Get him, Boomer! You can take him!" yelled Brick.

"Yeah, just use your head!" yelled Blossom.

"Yeah, he's nothing!" yelled Otto.

"Don't be afraid! You're more than enough to get this coward!" yelled Dexter.

"Take Bubble's idea! Go for the nads again!" yelled Coop.

"Coop…" muttered Dexter, shaking his head.

"Hey, dude, that's good advice."

From her separate dome, Buttercup yelled out.

"You better not lose to that jerk!" she yelled, with her usual attitude.

She was silent for a moment, then added, without her usual spice, "Be careful…"

Weasel and the Professor, who had been silent for some time, also spoke.

"Remember, Blaine is made out of the same stuff as you and he's weakened! Don't let him deceive you!" yelled Weasel.

"Yes," agreed the Professor. "Biologically, you're almost exactly like him. Same muscle structure, same bone strength, and both of you have Chemical X loaded in every cell of your body! Since he's weakened, this should be a cakewalk!"

These comments actually gave Boomer more confidence, but the Professor comment about them being alike sickened Boomer; Boomer hated the fact that Blaine were alike in anyway, since Blaine was such a cruel, insane person. The thought made Boomer want to vomit, but he resisted the urge.

Blaine looked down at him, with his arms folded, with a smile on his face.

"If you're done with your pep talk with these sissies, I've got some ass-kicking I need to do!" he said.

Boomer looked up and glared at his adversary.

"Don't you insult my friends, you monster," he said, with malice.

Blaine's smile widened.

"Well well…what do you say we just skip the formalities and get right to the point?" he said.

Boomer straightened up. All the fear began to fade away into anger. He shifted into a fighting stance, placing his left hand and left foot in front of the rest of his body. He held out his left hand.

"I couldn't agree more. You're beyond forgiveness. Let's settle this now."

Blaine uncrossed his arms and held them up to the sky.

"Very well, Brother! Let this be our final battle!"

His outstretched hands reached to the black sky above. His hands began to glow with radiant blue energy. In between his hands, a large ball of blue light formed. Blue sparks began to crackle from the ball as it grew larger and brighter.

"Suck on this!" said Blaine, as he threw down his hands, and the ball of light sped down to the ground, like a falling star from the depths of deep space.

As the light descended downward, Boomer quickly charged energy in his left hand. He swung his hand outward, shooting a blue beam from his palm, which shot upward to meet Blaine's blast. The blue energy collided with each other, in a blue burst of energy that resembled a star about to go supernova. The energy merged together, each refusing to blink into non-existence. Instead, the fragile blue supernova remained suspended in the air, shooting sparks around it like a bug-zapper powered by a nuclear reactor, but never quite exploding.

Seeing the energy would not explode, each brother took the opportunity to close in on the other. Blaine zoomed downward as Boomer jumped up and flew towards him. The closed in on each other, each knowing they were about to meet dangerously close to the blue nova.

They each had their hands outward as they met in the air, grappling each others hands as they met. Boomer used all the strength he could muster to not allow Blaine to regain freedom of his hands. However, suddenly his palms became smolderingly hot. He looked up at Blaine, smiling. Suddenly, from Blaine's palms shot a flash of blue pain. Boomer was blown off into the air, and fell downward.

He regained his balance in mid-air, as Blaine closed in fast. Blaine his leg back and kicked towards Boomer's face.

_What are you, stupid?_ thought Boomer towards himself. _Are you gonna let him walk all over you? You're stronger now. Fight back!_

Boomer felt a surge of adrenaline and felt his blood pump through him rapidly. He moved his hand quickly to grab a hold of Blaine's foot as it was about to connect with his jaw.

"What the-" exclaimed Blaine.

Boomer grabbed Blaine's leg with his other hand, swung it through the air, sending Blaine's body hurtling towards the blue nova.

_I've got him now,_ thought Boomer.

But, unfortunately, Blaine rolled upright in the air and stopped himself just before he hit the blue nova. The sparks from the blue ball of light crackled centimeters from Blaine's head, causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand up.

_Damn…so close,_ thought Boomer.

Blaine regained his composure and gritted his teeth in anger at Boomer.

"So, you like using cheap moves!" yelled Blaine.

Quickly, Blaine flew forward so fast he was a blur. He suddenly appeared in front of Boomer, who could not believe he could move that fast all of a sudden. Without warning, Blaine clung his hands to Boomer's shoulders. Blaine maneuvered above Boomer's head and shifted his energy to his feet, to force them downward. Boomer, unable to get free, plummeted downward, landing on the hard, rocky ground with a loud WHAM!

Boomer lied on the ground on his back, which felt like it had just been run over by rush hour traffic. Luckily, since Boomer had a higher constitution than normal people, the fall did not actually injure him; but that did not mean it still did not hurt a great amount.

Boomer looked up at Blaine's face right above his, holding him down in the ground, smiling.

"How's that for a cheap shot?" he said.

Boomer narrowed his eyes at him, then shot his knee upwards into Blaine's body, shoot him up in the air and forcing him to relinquish his grip. Boomer rolled onto his feet as Blaine fell back to the ground, rolling to break his fall.

Boomer, trying to get in a strike before he could get up, ran up to him with his fist back. Blaine was still on his knees getting up when Boomer rushed up and drove his fist downward at him. Blaine quickly moved out the way, making Boomer's fist hit the ground.

However, Boomer's eyes followed Blaine as he moved. Boomer's eyes glowed red as he shot two thin beams of red light into Blaine's chest. Blaine yelled in pain as smoke began to fumigate from his burn clothes and skin. Blaine crouched back down after Boomer's laser beams subsided.

He looked up, furious.

"Damn you!" yelled Blaine as he rushed forward, with his fist back. He closed in on Boomer and threw a punch, connecting with Boomer's face, spewing blood from his mouth.

Boomer looked back at Blaine and returned another punch towards his chest. For that moment, they began assaulting each other with only physical attacks as they both stood on the ground. Their fighting styles were almost exactly alike; they each knew the others tricks, since they were almost the same person, save for mental condition. They exchanged attack after attack, neither ever gaining the upper hand, neither ever submitted under the other.

Above, the blue nova continued to crackle with large, unstable blue sparks, illuminating the fight down below.

* * *

"Hey, doc…what's with that thing in the sky?" asked Brick, to Weasel. "They blasted each other…but it hasn't blow up or faded out or anything? What's with that, doc?"

Weasel, paying attention to the fight, turned towards Brick.

"It's difficult to tell from sight alone," said Weasel, rubbing his chin. "But if I had to guess, I'd say that both Boomer and Blaine used an equal amount of energy in their blasts. Since Blaine was weaker at the start of the fight, he had to use more effort, but Boomer only needed a short time to charge energy. Regardless, the equal energy seems to have collided and negated each other, so it's just staying suspended in space instead of exploding. My guess is it will stay like that until some outside stimulus causes the stability to finally collapse."

Brick did not reply. He looked back up at the blue nova one more time.

_I've got a bad feeling about that thing,_ he thought.

Brick tried to put his mind on something else besides the blue nova. He looked back at the fight. Boomer just missed dodging another of Blaine's kicks, causing his foot to be planted firmly in his chest. However, it didn't phase Boomer very long, because he threw a flurry of punches at Blaine moments after.

Brick felt his stomach tighten. Watching the felt built up too much tension. Neither one seemed to be at any advantage over the other. Suddenly, Brick remembered Brisbaine's plan; the idea that two groups of equal strength fighting would fight for eternity, neither side able to win.

_Jesus, it's exactly what's happening now,_ thought Brick. _If one of them doesn't do something different, they'll just fight forever._

Brick surveyed the field and looked over at Bubbles, who was watching the fight unblinking, clearly nervous.

Brick turned towards Blossom, who was clinging to Dexter watching the fight.

"Your sister seems nervous," said Brick.

Blossom glanced over at him, with an eyebrow raised.

"Since when do you care about any of us?" she asked.

"I don't," he said. "But I figured you might. I'm just saying…"

Blossom turned towards him, curious. Dexter looked over too.

"Is that really the only reason you mentioned it?" she asked.

Brick sat down on the ground, twirling his finger in the dirt, thinking.

"No," he said after a moment of silence. "But…I figure if my brother is worried about her…maybe I should too. I mean, if he can forgive her…and…feel for her…what am I supposed to do? Try to go after you guys anyway? Nobody is that low."

"What about your other brother? Butch? The one that ran off?" she said.

Brick didn't reply for a moment. Then, he finally spoke again.

"Nobody is that low…" he repeated.

Blossom looked at him for a moment, both confused and relieved at the fact he seemed to have accept them.

"Wonders never cease…" she whispered to herself.

* * *

Blaine grabbed Boomer's punch and squeezed hard on it, hurting his hand.

For the first time in a long couple of minutes, Blaine finally spoke again.

"What do you hope to gain by fighting like this?" said Blaine, squeezing harder.

Boomer looked up at him confused.

"I could ask you…the same…thing!" he said, pulling his fist back from Blaine's grip and charging energy in it. He shot a small blast from his palm at Blaine. Blaine jumped in the air and arched his back to narrowly avoid the blast. He flipped back farther away from Boomer, creating some distance between them.

"Honestly…what do you have to live for?" said Blaine.

Boomer looked at him, confused.

"W-what?" he said.

A distance away, Bubbles yelled out.

"Don't listen to him!"

Blaine did not acknowledge her.

"Come on, Boomer…" Blaine continued. "You and I both know your life is a waste. Look at yourself. You're nothing like the original Boomer. But I…I am. I crave the freedom to do whatever I want, destroy whatever I want, change whatever I want. I am the perfect clone of Boomer in everyway."

Boomer remained silent as he spoke.

"You idiot… _I_ should have been the first one. I should be called Boomer. You're the one who should be the reject. You should have been in that tube all that time. I deserve this! Why don't you just submit! I can grant you the greatest gift one brother can give another…the chance to never have to worry about anything again. The chance to never question your identity again. I can grant you oblivion!"

Boomer looked down silently for a moment.

Then, unexpectedly, he smiled.

"Is that the best you can do?" said Boomer.

Blaine appeared shocked.

"What!" he said.

Boomer looked up.

"A couple hours ago, that might have worked. But not anymore. I don't care if you, Brisbaine, or any of the guys he works for thinks of what I am or what I'm not. I am who I choose to be…"

While Blaine was shocked, Boomer quickly flew towards him, with blue light flying behind him. As he approached Blaine, he swung his foot as hard as he could into his head. Blaine, caught off-guard, was knocked off his feet. He flew a few feet and landed on the ground on his back.

Boomer walked towards him slowly.

"I am who I choose to be," said Boomer. "No matter what you think, I am Boomer."

Blaine slowly got up, and held his head. He turned towards Boomer, with hate in his eyes.

"Grr…looks like I underestimated you…you son of a bitch…" he said, slowly getting to his feet. He looked up at the blue nova, which was almost directly above them in the air. Blaine looked at if for a moment then smiled.

"But I still have a few tricks up my sleeve!" he proclaimed as he jumped and flew upwards towards the blue nova. He stopped ascending just several feet below it. He raised his hand upward and began to focus his energy.

Boomer looked up and saw that he was obviously trying to throw the blue nova at him.

_Wow…that's the best he can come up with now? Throwing a big ball of energy at me? That's just sad,_ thought Boomer.

Boomer held his hands in front of him and began to create a smaller ball of blue energy in between his palms. The sparks from both his hands came together in between both hands to form the ball of light. Boomer prepared to throw it.

He looked up. Blaine was smiling, clearly indicated he had used his energy to grab a hold of the blue nova.

Boomer prepared to throw his ball of light to counter-act the blue nova. He yelled out to Blaine.

"If you think you're gonna kill me by just throwing a big blue ball at me, you've got another thing coming."

Blaine looked down, raising his eyebrow. After a moment, his threw his head back and laughed.

"What's so funny?" yelled Boomer.

"You are!" said Blaine. And with that, he threw down his hand, sending the blue nova to descend at a fast pace towards the ground below. But as it began to descend, Blaine spoke something that sent a jolt through Boomer's body.

"I never said I was aiming for you!"

Boomer's heart skipped a beat. He looked up at the blue nova and tried to see where it looked like it would land. To his terror, he looked over to his right and saw it would land on the field Bubble's was in.

Boomer remembered what Brisbaine said about the fields a while ago.

_" A blast from outside the field strong enough could cause the electric energy to overload and cave in, detonating everything inside,"_ he had said.

_Oh, God,_ thought Boomer, visualizing the blue nova landing on Bubbles, engulfing her in blue light, all while she's screaming…

Without second thought, Boomer flew towards the blue nova, but he was afraid he would not be able to intercept it in time. He looked at Bubbles, who finally realized that she was the target.

While Boomer flew fast to stop the blue nova, Blaine continued to ramble and gloat.

"Sorry, Brother, but you can't win!" he said. "I allow myself to use the freedom given to me to kill all that gets in my way. You do not. If you cannot kill me, you cannot win."

Boomer didn't take his eyes of the blue nova, which was almost at the ground, inching ever closer.

"I thought you said no dirty tricks!" yelled Boomer, without taking his eyes off the blue nova while speeding towards it.

"I had my fingers crossed! Besides it'll serve that bitch right!" replied Blaine, joyfully.

Boomer was almost at the blue nova, but it was dangerously close to Bubbles' dome. He could see clearly that she was terrified.

_I gotta make it! If that thing blows up…no! I won't let that happen!_

Boomer pushed himself to the limit of speed and finally flew in the path of the blue nova, which was only a few feet from Bubbles.

Boomer, staring into the crackling blue mass that was the blue nova, held up his left hand out and tried to quickly charge energy.

_Come on…come on!_ thought Boomer.

But he saw that he didn't have the time. The blue nova descended on his hand.

"NOOOOOO!"

The blue nova blinked, and then erupted into a bright blue flash that looked like a highbred of fireworks and a 60-megaton bomb.

* * *

After a few moments, the flash subsided. Bright blue specks of light flickered in Bubble's vision for a few seconds, but then subsided. Bubbles felt dizzy, because it all happened so fast. She looked around, tried to recall what had just happened. She saw she was still encased in the blue dome.

_Let's see,_ she thought _. Blaine launched that thing…and it was coming at me…and I thought I was about to faint when…_

Bubbles gasped.

_Boomer!_

She looked around, past the static field, but couldn't see him. All she could see was a large, deep crater that had formed several feet from her dome. From where she stood, she couldn't even clearly see the bottom of it.

_Oh God…oh God…please be okay! Please don't leave me now!_

She looked around everywhere she could see, then noticed something on the ground, only a few inches past her field. It took a moment of staring at it for her to register what it was. When she did, she screamed.

A few inches from her dome, there was a severed arm, in a small puddle of blood.

Everything was not okay.


	17. Find Me a Grave Man

_Ugh…where am I?_ thought Boomer.

There was total darkness. The world felt hazy and unreal, like he was dreaming. His head was throbbing like someone had stuck a drill in his brain, and for some reason, he seemed unable to speak, but that was not the thing most distressing him at the moment.

_Damn, what's wrong with my arm?_

Boomer tried to look at his arm, but since it seemed extremely dark at the moment. He could feel his left shoulder, but about halfway down to his elbow, it felt like as if on pins and needles; Pins and needles that just happened to be dipped in gasoline and lit on fire. He tried to move it, but, for some reason, he found himself unable to. Boomer tried to move his other limbs, but although he felt them, he could not. He gave up and tried to figure out where he was.

_What happened?_

For a few moments, Boomer found himself unable recall what had happened.

_Ok…I remember Blaine,_ he thought. _We were fighting…then he threw that big blue ball at me._

However, after a second, Boomer corrected himself.

_No wait…he didn't throw it at me, did he?_

Then, in a flash, it all came back. Blaine throwing the blue nova at Bubbles. The overwhelming fear of not being able to stop it. He remembered standing in front of the blue nova, to deflect it, but he wasn't fast enough. Boomer's last memory was of a short, yet immense pain in his arm.

_So…where am I now?_

Suddenly, a terrifying thought crept into his mind.

_Am I…dead?_

Without warning, a voice appeared and spoke, as if to answer Boomer's thought. The voice was not intimidating, but still sent a chill down Boomer's spine for some reason.

"Not quite yet, mon."

Boomer, who had not been able to see anything since he awoke, finally saw something come into view. It didn't take long for Boomer to still wish he couldn't see anything.

There was a flash of white light that swept over Boomer. When it subsided, a tall figure appeared, wearing a long, black cloak. Inside the hood, to Boomer's shock, was a bare skull. The figure's skeletal hand held a huge scythe, so sharp it could separate the fabric of existence at the whim of the user.

Before Boomer's eyes stood Death.

As if this wasn't bone-chilling enough, at that moment, Boomer heard another sound. It sounded very distance, but Boomer still recognized it.

It was first a bloodcurdling scream, that Boomer easily recognized as coming from Bubbles. Another sound followed this that, in a way, made Boomer feel even more afraid. It was his own voice, laughing. Boomer knew there was only one other person who could laugh in his voice like that.

And that couldn't possibly mean good news.

* * *

Blaine stood floating in the air above the gargantuan crater, laughing like a madman as Bubble's screamed. As he laughed, he began to descend down near Bubbles.

Brick, who for a moment had not understood why Bubble's was screaming, opened his mouth to say something. However, before he could, Blossom nudged him. He turned and saw her looking at him sadly. After a moment, she solemnly pointed towards the arm.

Brick saw it and his face grew pale and tears began to form in his eyes. He turned away, not wanting anyone to see him. He couldn't speak. There comes a point when all men, even the toughest, break.

Everyone looked sad, and nobody spoke. The only sounds were Blaine's laughing and Bubble's screaming.

Finally, Blaine landed next to the severed arm. He picked it up from the puddle of blood, and spoke.

"Well," he said, still laughing, "I think Boomer's been…disarmed, wouldn't you say!" He burst out laughing uncontrollably again.

When Bubble's heard this, she stopped screaming. Suddenly all her sadness turned to anger. Her eyes glowed blue, sparks forming in them.

"You…you…I'LL KILL YOU!" she said, charging forward into the wall of the static dome, trying desperately to push through, so she could take Blaine and destroy him, but to no avail. The dome shocked her and she was forced to recoil.

Blaine saw this attempt and it only intensified his laughter.

"Sorry." he said, trying to suppress his laughter. "But there's no way you're getting through that. The only way out is if I let you out with this." He pointed to his belt. "Or if you're blown out…of course, all your pieces wouldn't be together once you're out…" He giggled.

Bubbles tried once again to charge though the dome, thrashing wildly, but was once again successful.

"You're a monster," said Buttercup, from her dome nearby. She had a look on her face that clearly conveyed that the thing she wanted to do most in the world at this moment was to smash Blaine's face in.

Blaine shrugged.

"Well, I may be a monster, but at least I'm alive. Ha! These jokes never get old!" Blaine looked around, swinging the arm over his shoulder, dripping blood over the back of his clothes. "I wish I could find the rest of him. I was hoping to take his skull as a trophy…but I suppose this arm will just have to do."

Brick broke from crying a minute to shout at him.

"GO TO HELL! YOU'RE GONNA DIE, YOU &#&$!" he yelled, furiously.

Blaine let out another "ha."

"And whose gonna kill me? You? Last time I checked, all of you were still trapped in these domes. And the only way out is if I let you out."

"Mark my words," said Brick, with tears still streaming down his face. "Soon…you will get yours. You have to let us out sometime."

Blaine shook his head.

"No no no, actually I don't," he said, laying down the arm back on the ground once he noticed he was getting himself bloody. "Actually, I had planned to just leave, and let you all die of starvation. Or of thirst. I forget which comes first. I suppose you could resort to cannibalism, and it would be a pity to miss that, but I'm afraid I have to take my leave."

"You won't get away with this!" yelled Bubbles.

"Oh, but I already have, dear."

For the first time in a while, Brisbaine spoke.

"Blaine! Good show! Now, could you let me out?"

Blaine looked at him for a moment.

"Okay," he said.

Brisbaine's face lit up.

"Really?"

"No," replied Blaine, making Brisbaine's smile fade. "You annoy me." He began to laugh. "You should have seen the look on your face. Ha! Today is a barrel of laughs."

And he continued to laugh like a madman. It was a laugh so frightening it could be heard even in the halls of the dieing.

* * *

_Who…who is this guy?_ thought Boomer, knowing full well who he was. He wanted to ask him, but couldn't. However, Death seemed to be able to hear his thoughts and responded by raising his voice to a creepier level.

"I am…da Grim Reaper!" he said, raising his scythe in the air dramatically. After a moment, he lowered it and looked tired. "Now, let's just hurry this up. I gotta hit three old folks homes after dis."

_Where am I?_ thought Boomer, as he looked at the Grim Reaper, who Boomer thought acted very odd for a figure feared by all mankind.

"It's a little complicated," said the Reaper, who many know simply by the name _Grim._

_Is this…like…Purgatory?_

"No no," said Grim. "Like I say, ya not dead…well…at least not right now. Right now, we're kinda inside ya head, but, at dat same time, not completely in da Earthly Realm. It's quantum mechanics or somethin' like that. Don't ask me, even I don't get it."

Boomer was relieved of that, but he was still confused.

_Well…if I'm not dead…what am I? Why can't I move?_

"Dat's because ya technically unconscious and ya heart has been stopped for…" Grim reached in his cloak and pulled out a huge book that read _Book of the Dead: Volume 665_ on the coverHe flipped quickly to a marked page and continued to speak. "For about twelve seconds now, cause of shock or something like that. I dunno, I'm not a doctor, and if I was I'd be a pretty bad one. Anyway-"

Boomer stiffened up.

_I thought you said I wasn't dead,_ thought Boomer.

Grim glared at him.

"Ya didn't let me finish. At da moment, ya just having a near death experience…which is why I'm standing so close to ya right now."

Grim chucked. Boomer didn't. The Reaper noticed this and stopped laughing.

"Just a joke, mon," he said. "Anyway, I won't bore ya any longer. Ya just supposed to have a revelation, and then you'll heart will start right back up again."

_So…I'm not gonna die today?_ thought Boomer.

"Hey, I'm not allowed ta give ya dat kind of information. It'd mess up the balance. All I'm sayin' is ya not gonna die right _now_."

Boomer was discouraged upon hearing this.

_So…what's this revelation I'm supposed to have?_

Grim lead towards him close, which crept Boomer out, since he could see right through his eye-holes.

"In a very short time, you will be forced ta stand up ta someone who intimidates ya. Ya must speak ya mind."

_Someone who intimidates me?_ wondered Boomer. _Do you mean Blaine?_

"Sorry, mon; dat's all I'm allowed ta say. Trust me, when da time comes, ya will know what ta do."

_What happens if I don't? I mean, hypothetically,_ thought Boomer, curious.

Grim scratched his head.

"Well, it would change what was supposed ta happen, and it would'a send out a chain reaction through the Time Stream that changes da future in horrible ways ya cannot possibly imagine. I think they have a name for it. Da 'Horsefly effect' or somethin' like that."

Boomer suddenly became very nervous.

"But don' worry," said Grim, seeing his expression. "That almost never happens…no pressure…just…try not ta forget completely."

Boomer did not feel very encouraged.

"Well, I suppose dat's it," said Grim.

Grim put way his book, then took his hand back quickly and snapped his finger bones.

"Oh yea," he said. "Almost forgot. When ya wake up, ya gonna need to tie off your arm."

Boomer wanted to raise his eyebrow, but since he couldn't move, he gave up.

_Why?_ thought Boomer.

"Because it's not 'dere anymore."

Boomer finally understood the pins and needles feeling on his arm…or lack thereof. The thought of his own arm being severed distressed him, but he still knew he had to get back quickly. Blaine's laughter couldn't possibly mean a good thing.

_Oh,_ said Boomer, feeling himself go pale.

"Uh oh, look at me yammerin' like dat," said Grim, smacking himself in the forehead. "I have to be goin'. Alright, stand back."

Grim put down his scythe and backed a few steps, pulling his skeletal fist back. Boomer realized he must be about to send him back. He looked at his fist then back at Boomer carefully, as if he was calculating something.

_Thank you for your help, Mr. Death,_ though Boomer, looking at Grim, who acted completely different from how he had assumed he would have acted. _I don't think I'll forget you for a long, long time._

"Thanks, but you'll forget all about me when ya wake up," he said, without looking up.

Boomer suddenly became very afraid.

_What? But what about all that important stuff? The revelation? And not screwing up existence?_

"Don't worry, mon. All da stuff ya supposed to remember will be in ya subconscious."

_But…_

"Sorry, but I'm very busy, and I have ta hurry up. I'll see ya again…eventually."

Grim drew his hand back a little further, put his index and middle finger out, and drove them towards Boomer's chest. He yelled out in extreme pain. Pain shot in his chest, head, and arm. He shouted louder and louder…

* * *

"Hey, why did you do…" whimpered Boomer, opening his eyes, to see the night sky above, as he laid on his back in the dirt, feeling very weak. "That…?"

_Who…who was I talking to?_ He thought, unable to remember much before he awoke from his slumber, aside from a white light. _Must have been a dream or…OW!_

Boomer turned his head on its side to look at his arm. Halfway down to the elbow, Boomer's arm ended. Blood pooled onto the dirt from the bloody nub surrounded by his tattered sleeve, making a large, maroon stain in the dirt. Looking closer he could see little bits of what looked like red nerves from the nub, no longer connected to anything, causing a pins and needles feeling accompanying the pain. The sight of it made Boomer's stomach cringe and he felt warm vomit come up his throat, but for some reason he was not surprised by this sight. And after averting his eyes, the vomit subsided back to his insides.

He moved his eyes back and forth to examine his surrounding. He was surrounded by walls of dirt, and the only sight of the sky was through a circular opening several feet above. Boomer concluded he must be inside some kind of hole or crater.

_Must be from that big blast Blaine shot at me,_ thought Boomer, feeling very woozy, suddenly wanting to fall asleep. However, once he remembered Blaine, he fought the urge. _I gotta get up there! He must be up there!_

Boomer grudgingly looked back at his nub.

_I have to tie that off before I bleed to death,_ thought Boomer.

Still fighting the urge not to pass out, Boomer used his right arm, which suddenly felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, to tear part of his heavily tattered and burnt clothes off. He quickly wrapped it around the bloody nub, pulling it into a knot with his hand and teeth to make it tight enough to hold. A read stain formed at the end of the makeshift cast.

_Ok…that'll have to do for now. I gotta get up there,_ he thought.

Boomer, after much effort, got up from his back, onto his knees. Boomer tried to summon the strength to fly, but found himself exhausted. Getting up there would take even more out of him, but climbing was not an option for someone with one arm.

Boomer got up to his feet, concentrated very hard, and levitated, very slowly, upwards.

As he concentrated all his strength on getting upwards, he heard Blaine's voice.

"You should have seen the look on your face. Ha! Today is a barrel of laughs," he said, before beginning to laugh hysterically.

Boomer got just up to the rim of the crater, then stopped flying, latching himself on to a slope towards the surface, his head being the only part actually over the crater. He saw everyone still in the fields, everyone looking solemn. Brick looked like he was crying, which shocked Boomer, since Boomer had never seen Brick express such strong emotions like that before. He also saw Buttercup and Bubbles, staring at Blaine like they wanted to kill him. The latter of the two seemed exhausted, yet even more furious than Buttercup.

And he saw Blaine, laughing himself silly, with his hands on his knees. Right now, he was looking in the direction opposite of the crater, leaving him defenseless. No one else seemed to notice Boomer either.

_Now's my chance,_ thought Boomer. _If I can just get a shot in at him, with all my strength, while his back his turned, it might be enough for me to overpower him._

As he thought this, Boomer felt himself become very lightheaded.

_I just hope I have enough strength for it to make a different. It's a long shot, but if his guard is down…it just might work._

Boomer braced himself, then began to charge all his remaining energy into his only remaining hand. Boomer literally felt the life drain from him, feeling himself go weaker, but he needed enough energy to use it. Sparks flared, forming a ball of light, growing slowly and becoming brighter and brighter.

Boomer looked over the rim back at Blaine. Then, feeling he had given all the energy he could, hurled his hand back and threw the blast at Blaine, hoping his aim was true.

The blast hurled through the air, leaving a streak of blue light as it charged forth.

Blaine continued laughing with his back turned.

Boomer looked onward, hoping it would hit.

He saw Bubbles look up, noticing the blast. Her eyes widened, with a mix of hope and confusion.

Blaine must have noticed this because his laughing slowed.

The blue blast flew closer and closer…

Blaine looked at Bubbles, curious. He slowly turned around, only to see the blue blast as it was about to connect with his face.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" he yelled as the ball exploded in front of his face. A surge of blue power engulfed him. Boomer turned away from the blast, due to the brightness of it. When the blast subsided, Blaine was on his knees, on the ground, holding his head.

_Damn, he's not knocked out!_ Thought Boomer, trying to think of a next move. That blast used up almost all of his energy. It took all he had not to pass out. On top of that, the fact that the cloth he had tied his arm nub with was dripping red now and could start to leak at any moment did not help the situation.

Blaine took his hand from his face, revealing the right side of his face badly burnt. His right eye was crimson red, with a tear of blood trickling down his burnt face.

"YOU…YOU BITCHED UP MY FACE!" he yelled, furious.

At the moment, everyone had finally turned and noticed Boomer, causing some relief. Bubbles was briefly ecstatic to see he was alive…until she realized that Boomer was heavily exhausted and Blaine still had some energy. She tried to think of something she could do to help, but she could not.

Blaine stood up, his rage mounting. He picked up Boomer's arm from the ground.

"Missing something?" he said, throwing the arm far backwards into the grass. "Well, get used to the feeling, because now I'm gonna rip off all your other limbs!"

Boomer climbed over the rim of the crater, standing up. Blaine saw his nub.

"I'm gonna enjoy this," he said. "You're helpless. You're pale as a ghost and you're a walking slot machine."

Boomer tried to look like he had some strength, but still felt as if he was gonna pass out. His vision started to blur.

"I don't…think so…" said Boomer, obviously exhausted.

"What are you gonna do? Bleed on me?" said Blaine. "Give up…the fight is over. Now…it's a massacre."

Boomer hated to admit it, but he was right. Blaine was weakened from the fight and the blast as well, but he still had energy to spare, not to mention all of his limbs intact. Boomer, however, was in no condition to fight. He needed to be at a hospital; even superhumans can't withstand loosing too much blood.

Blaine started to walk towards him, charging energy in his hands.

"Well, Brother, it's been a good fight, but all good things must come to an end."

Boomer looked around at his loved ones, and noticed something very odd. They all seemed to be looking upward.

Blaine got closer to Boomer. The energy grew brighter.

_What are they all staring at?_ Thought Boomer. Even Bubbles' eyes seemed transfixed upward. Boomer turned his head and looked up. He saw an object moving towards them at a fantastic speed. It got closer and closer.

Blaine noticed Boomer looking and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you staring a-"

BAM!

Right behind Blaine, it had landed, sending up a huge cloud of dust and dirt, masking it completely.

"What the hell?" yelled Blaine, letting the energy subside.

Nobody seemed to know what is was, aside from one person.

"He's here," whispered Brick, from inside his dome.

The dust was still heavy, but now one could clearly see green sparks around the epicenter of landing. As the dust started to clear more, the figure's glowing green eyes were clearly visible. The dust cleared, revealing his black hair, black and green clothes, and his angry expression.

"Now..." said Butch, enraged upon what he saw. "Just what the _hell_ is going on here?"


	18. O, the Blood is Spilt

"Just what the _hell_ is going on here?" said Butch.

The first thing Butch noticed was that, for some reason, almost everyone, including Brick, were in static domes. Most were people Butch did not know, but Butch did see the girls, which still triggered more than a hint of anger in his mind. Weasel was also there, which puzzled Butch, but currently all these sights were irrelevant.

Before Butch stood _two_ Boomers; One was closer to him, looking shocked, with a burnt face and a bleeding eye, while another behind him appeared more injured, but Butch was not close enough to get a good look at him.

From behind the static dome, Brick yelled out to him.

"BUTCH! WATCH OUT FOR-"

The Boomer with the burnt face interrupted Brick.

"Butch!" he said, who seemed to be a tad tongue tied. "Get him!" He said pointing to the other Boomer, which Butch could still not get a clear enough look at. "He's an evil clone trying to kill us!"

Brick from behind the dome, immediately contradicted him.

"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM! HE'S TRYING TO TRICK YOU! HE'S THE REAL CLO-" he yelled.

"Brother," said burnt Boomer. "Forgive Brick. Brisbaine put him under some kind of mind control. He doesn't know what he's saying! Please. You must know its me."

Butch looked at the burnt Boomer for several seconds, then glared at him.

"You are not my brother. Get out of my way," said Butch.

The fake Boomer recoiled.

"W-what are you talking about?" he said, still trying to keep up his act.

"You're not Boomer," said Butch, still glaring. "You think I wouldn't recognize my own brother?"

Butch walked closer to him.

"Boomer would never talk as much as you have in the last minute, at least without looking down or stuttering. Don't insult me. Now move."  
-

From behind the static field, Brick smiled, surprised at his brothers actions.

_So…he does pay attention to him after all…I knew it,_ thought Brick.

-  
The fake Boomer still tried to convince him.

"Please, Butch. It's me, you-"

Losing his patience, Butch lifted his hand and slammed the back of his hand into the fake Boomer's face, knocking him to the ground with a hard "thud."

"When I say move, I mean _move,_ " he said, walking past the fake Boomer as he tried to get his head together.

Butch walked closer the other Boomer, and as he neared, noticed a ghastly sight. This other Boomer, the real Boomer, was pale as a ghost. His clothes were all but tattered fabric, and worst of all, his left arm was just a nub, with a bloodstained cloth wrapped at the end of it. The real Boomer looked like he was struggling to stand. He stared at Butch.

Butch, not expecting this, sped up over to him. As he neared, Boomer collapsed on his knees on the ground, almost as if he was about to pass out. Butch crouched down to him.

"Boomer…" said Butch, unable to find the words. Butch had no idea how he could be able to face his brother after what he had done earlier that day, but he knew he couldn't have stood by and done nothing. Back in space, he yelled out he just couldn't do this anymore; he just couldn't stand by and do nothing. However, nothing Butch had expected was like this. Butch would have never thought anything this serious could have happened to him while he was away. The fact that Butch could not have prevented that made him feel both angry at himself and whoever did it.

While Butch struggled to speak, Boomer spoke.

"About…about earlier today…are you…" he said, breathing heavily.

Butch didn't let him finish. He put his hand on his right shoulder.

"Don't…that's not important right now," he said, trying not to appear vulnerable. Butch looked behind him at the fake Boomer and looked back at the real one. "Did he do this to you?"

Boomer didn't react for a minute.

"Did he do this to you?" Butch repeated, more firmly.

Boomer nodded slowly.

Butch let his hand remain on Boomer's shoulder for another moment.

"Don't worry about anything now…you just rest…I'll take care of this…" said Butch. After this, Boomer let himself lie down on a small patch of grass around the large crater.

Butch looked at him as he laid down for a minute, weak and armless, then turned back to the fake Boomer, eyes full of rage. The fake Boomer was still getting himself to his feet. His emerald eyes flared completely green as surges of power formed in his corneas.

"You…" said Butch, his face red with anger. "You're dead!"

The fake Boomer laughed.

"I can assure you, I am very much alive," he said. "I'm surprised you saw through my trick. Perhaps I underestimated you. I'm ever more surprised that you knew to come here."

Butch's glare did not break and he did not reply. In truth, Butch saw a bright blue light flash as he entered the Earth's atmosphere. It didn't take a genius to think that Boomer might be somehow involved.

From behind the static dome, Brick yelled to Butch again.

"Butch, Blaine may just be a clone, but he plays dirty. Watch out! Don't fall for any of his tricks!"

Butch didn't reply to Brick's comment. Butch was completely focused. His rage was like a laser beam, focused in one spot until the target was annihilated.

"Blaine…" said Butch to Blaine, before he charged recklessly at him, with his fist held back. "DIE!"

Blaine anticipated his action easily and moved to the side of Butch to dodge the punch.

"Ha!" taunted Blaine. "Perhaps I was right after all. You are an idi-"

Blaine didn't have time to react as Butch, using the momentum of the missed punch with his left hand, quickly spun around, lifted his right leg, and smashed the heel of his foot with Blaine's right knee, with all the force he could muster. There was a quiet crunch.

"AHHHHH!" yelled Blaine, as he was forced to kneel down, clutching his knee.

Butch stood over him, looking down, his face not showing an ounce of mercy.

"No Blaine…you are the idiot," said Butch. "I've already won."

Blaine, his eyes watering with pain, looked up.

"What!" he said.

"You're weakened, dumbass," said Butch. "Not as much as my brother, but you are. I am at full strength. You were already defeated the minute I arrived."

Butch looked coldly into his eyes, which showed a hint of fear in them.

"You're already dead," said Butch. "You just don't realize it yet."

* * *

"Whoa," said Blossom. "He brought down Blaine that fast…he's something else."

Brick, sitting on the ground, turned and replied.

"Out of all of us, Butch is the best fighter. He might not be smart, but he knows exactly the right thing to do in a fight…but…"

Blossom turned to Brick.

"But what?" said Blossom.

Brick looked back out at Butch, than looked back.

"It's just that…well…" said Brick, trying to explain. "He seems…different…this fight."

Dexter started to take interest in the conversation and entered it.

"Different how?" he asked.

Brick looked towards Butch as he spoke.

"Well…usually whenever he fights, he enjoys it…" said Brick.

"Right, Buttercup is the same way," said Blossom.

"What bothers me is that, for the first time, Butch seems dead serious in this fight. He hasn't smiled or anything…it's…disturbing…" said Brick.

"Well…what does that mean?"

Brick looked once more at Butch's expression, cold, unhappy, and without sympathy.

"It means that when he said he'd kill Blaine…he might not have been exaggerating."

* * *

Blaine, not willing to accept defeat, slowly stood back up, his right leg limping.

"Butch, wait," he said. "You don't want to do this."

"No, I think I do," said Butch, as he threw another punch towards Blaine's face. Blaine ducked down to avoid it, quickly charged some of his dwindling energy in his hands, and shot blue sparks into Butch's stomach. Butch was blown back into the air a few feet, but quickly regained his balance in the air and landed back down to the ground. "That was a mistake," he said, beginning to charge bright green sparks in both his hands.

Blaine did not move on the defensive right away. He stood up, doing his best to appear strong despite the crippling pain in his knee.

"Butch, why are you doing this for him?" said Blaine, pointing over at Boomer, who was lying on the ground weak, staring at both of them. "I've watched you all, and from what I know, you and Boomer are completely different. He's weak. He allows his feelings to control him. He is not like us. However, you and I are not that different. We are controlled by nothing. You and him have never gotten along…but we can. We don't need to fight." He held out his hand, and smiled. "Join me…together we can destroy the Girls, do things you've never even dreamed. Nothing will stand in our way. Think of it…"

From behind Butch, Boomer clumsily rised to his feet.

"Give it…up, Blaine," he said, breathing heavily. "Butch would never do that. Right?"

Butch, looking down at the ground, did not reply.

"Butch?" said Boomer.

Without speaking, Butch walked toward Blaine, his bangs hid his expression. He neared Blaine, and shook his hand.

Blaine grinned, and began to laugh. He looked at Boomer, who appeared confused.

"HA! See what your feelings have gotten you, Brother!" he said. "You have nothing-"

It was then that Butch grabbed Blaine's index finger and middle finger with his entire hand. Blaine looked confused.

"Hey, w-what are you doi-"

SNAP!

"AHHHHHH!" yelled Blaine, clutching his right hand. His index finger and middle finger were now bending in the opposite direction. He saw red as Butch stood over him, with a look of disgust and anger on his face. "YOU BASTARD!" he said.

"Don't…EVER compare yourself to me!" shouted Butch, clutching Blaine by the throat and lifting him off the ground. "Why is it that every time you open your mouth, it just makes me hate you more!"

Butch's grip tightened on Blaine's throat, causing Blaine to close his eyes in pain.

"You and I are NOT the same," said Butch. "You want to know why?"

Blaine's face began to turn a different color. He started to kick at Butch, but the blows lacked the power to knock Butch away.

"The difference is simple," said Butch. "You and I are both scum. The difference is that I know I'm scum. You don't. Not a great difference, but it's enough. You think you're superior…but you're not. You're pathetic. You're a waste of oxygen."

Brick saw Blaine's breath dwindling and spoke out.

"Butch…you're…you're gonna kill him!" yelled Brick.

Butch looked back at him, still holding his grip on Blaine.

"That's kinda the point."

"But…but…" said Brick, stammering. "You…you can't seriously do that!"

Brisbaine, who Butch hadn't even noticed was there, offered his opinion.

"The hell he can't! Kill the bastard!" said Brisbaine, still angry over Blaine betraying him.

"Listen Butch," said Brick. "We can imprison him! You don't have to do this! You can't! It's…it's not right!"

"It's not right?" scoffed Butch. "And it was right that he blew my brother's arm off? Was that right?"

"Killing him isn't going to bring it back!" said Brick.

Blaine's face began to fade into a purplish color.

"Shut up!" said Butch.

_I have to do this,_ thought Butch. _It's his fault! This is all his fault Boomer doesn't have an arm! His fault! Not mine! His!_

* * *

Boomer saw Butch was serious. That he truely intended to kill Blaine. Boomer took a deep breath, and tried to shout, but failed. His breath was getting weaker, which wasn't a good sign. Temporarily putting this out of his mind, Boomer breathed deeply and tried again.

"Butch…" he said, with enough volume as he could muster.

Butch turned back towards him, to see he was still wobbling on his feet. More blood dripped from the cloth on his nub. Butch saw the fearful look in his eyes.

Boomer tried to maintain a loud enough volume so Butch could hear, but Boomer felt himself become weaker and weaker with each passing second. His vision began to blur more and more.

"Butch…don't…look at yourself…don't," he whimpered.

Boomer was almost surprised at himself for feeling mercy towards Blaine, but Boomer knew that even though he had done terrible things, he didn't think he would have been able to kill him if given the chance. Blaine was correct when he said Boomer didn't have the will to kill someone. Killing Blaine would only make himself feel dirty. It would have made him think he had become as bad as Blaine if not worse. And Boomer had a feeling that soon enough, Butch would feel he had become as bad as him too. Boomer didn't want that.

"Don't" he repeated, once more.

* * *

Butch looked at the look in his brother's eyes. It was the look Butch feared to come across when he return. The look in Boomer's eyes made it known that Boomer was horrified at what he was about to do. Butch looked from his eyes to the eyes off the other people in the fields. On almost all of them were looks of shock, fear, and a hint of disgust. The only one without this look was Brisbaine, who was smirking with anticipation.

Butch looked back at Blaine, then looked back at Boomer, who still had that look on his face.

_Dammit,_ thought Butch. _If I do this…and act like I was doing the right thing…then he and I would be the same.  
_

Butch released his grip on Blaine, who fell to the ground with a thud. He lied on the ground breathing heavily. Butch looked down at him, into his eyes full of fear and anger.

"Damn you," said Blaine, his voice wheezing. "Why did you interfere! This was just between Brother and me. I would have won if you hadn't defeated me."

"No," said Butch. "No, the minute I arrived, your defeat was assured. You were already weak. I didn't defeat you, Boomer did. I just made sure you broken enough to realize it. But know this…" Butch glared at him. "I could have killed you. Remember that."

With that, he lifted his foot and kicked the side of Blaine's head hard, finally pushing Blaine past the point of pain he could take before slipping into unconsciousness. Butch remained standing over his unconscious body before turning back towards Boomer.

* * *

Boomer looked at his brother, and managed to muster a smile, despite his pain.

"Butch…I knew you weren't evil…you made the…the…right…"

Boomer's vision blurred even more. Suddenly Boomer felt an overwhelming urge to sleep. His legs began to lose their power beneath him. Before Boomer could stop himself, he fell to the ground, as his vision became darker.

"Boomer!" yelled Butch, running over towards him. The sight of Butch running towards him was the last thing he saw before Boomer closed his eyes, slipping into a deep sleep.

* * *

"BOOMER!" yelled Butch as he crouched over his body as he passed out. He looked at his nub, and the blood pooling on the ground from it. He saw how pale his skin was, and how beaten the fight with Blaine had made him. It didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out he needed a doctor fast, before it was too late.

Hopefully it wasn't too late already.


	19. A Glooming Peace

"Boomer, wake up! Come on!" said Butch, trying to shake Boomer awake, but to no avail; he was out cold. Trying not to panic, Butch looked around. He knew Weasel might be able to help, but he didn't know how to get him out of the dome.

Guess what Butch was thinking, Brick spoke to him through the field.

"Butch! Blaine's belt! That can let us out!" he said.

Butch looked back over to Blaine's unconscious carcass and saw he did indeed have a white belt with buttons on it. Butch quickly dashed over to Blaine, unhooked it from him, and held it in front of him, looking at the many orbs and buttons lining it. Not having time to think, he quickly pushed one of the buttons.

The field around Brisbaine flickered, then faded. He looked around, surprised for a minute, before smirking.

"Whoops," said Butch, pushing the button again, which quickly brought the field up again before Brisbaine had a chance to exit. Brisbaine cursed loudly.

Knowing time was off the essence, Butch pushed all the other buttons at once. First, the field around Coop, Blossom, Brick, Dexter, Otto, the Professor and Weasel faded. Weasel and Brick ran over to Boomer, and the others quickly followed suit. The field around Buttercup faded as well, who flew over to Boomer, who everyone was gathering around. Finally, the field around Bubbles faded, and Bubbles immediately rushed over to Boomer, with tears in her eyes.

Butch threw the belt down on the ground and ran over to Boomer. Weasel was examining his pulse in his only remaining hand, with Brick looking over his shoulder. Everyone else stood around him, looking worried. Bubbles stood near his head, crying.

"This isn't good," said Weasel. "He's lost a lot of blood. He's growing weaker by the second…"

Butch pushed by Weasel and tried shaking him again.

"Come on, Boomer! Wake up! Talk to me!" shouted Butch. Butch had never been this worried, afraid, or upset in his entire life. He refused to cry, but he had no idea what to do with all his emotion.

"Stop shaking him," said Weasel, pushing Butch away. "Stimuli like that will only make his blood come out even more."

For the first time in his existence, Butch felt helpless. Butch put his face in his hand.

Bubbles continued to cry, reached out to stroke Boomer's hair as he lay unconscious.

Butch looked up from his hand at her and began to shake with anger.

"You!" he said, pointing his shaking hand at her. "You did this!"

Bubbles looked up, confused, still crying.

Butch, losing control of himself, got up and walked closer to this.

"This is your fault!"

Brick got up and held Butch back.

"Butch, shut up! You're freaking out! You don't know what you're saying!"

Butch tried to resist his grip and continued yelling. Butch couldn't help but do it. In the face of tragedy, some people find the only way to cope is to find something to blame.

"It's because of you all this happened! This is your fault!"

Buttercup chose to get involved.

"I swear, if you try anything…" she said, glaring at him angrily.

"Butch, shut up!" said Brick, forcefully.

Bubbles looked at Butch, then looked down sadly.

_He's right,_ she thought. _This is my fault._

* * *

Boomer's eyes were closed, and he did not have the strength to move. But he resisted completely slipping into unconscious.

The voices of his friends appeared distant to him, but he still heard them. He heard Butch's cries.

_No…Butch…you've got it all wrong…_

Far away, inside the depths of Boomer's own subconscious, Boomer heard another voice, whose origin he could not explain.

_Ya will be forced ta stand up ta someone who intimidates ya. Ya must speak ya mind,_ said the voice.

Boomer could not explain the voice, but he could not deny it was right.

Using the last of his strength he opened his eyes, and prepared to speak.

* * *

"You…you…" stammered Butch, struggling against Brick. He continued to struggle until he heard a voice.

"Butch…"

Butch looked down and was amazed to see Boomer's eyes opened. Everyone looked down astonished.

"Boomer..." said Butch, no longer struggling. "You're…you're alright…"

"Not…really," admitted Boomer. "Listen…Butch…It's not her fault…"

Butch kneeled down by his brother. Now that his anger had ceased, he was able to see clearly, and listen to reason.

"I made…my own choices…" said Boomer. "I don't…regret any of them…getting mad at her will change nothing… they're alright, Butch…you know it's not her fault…"

Butch hung his head.

"I…I know," said Butch, quietly. "Boomer…" he struggled to find the words. "I…about…earlier today…about…what I did…I'm…" Butch continued to struggle with expressing his feelings. Then, quietly, he said, "I'm sorry."

"I know, Butch…I know…"

Bubbles looked kneeled down by Boomer's head. She did not stop crying.

"No, Butch is right," she said. "This is my fault. If you never…had feelings…for me…" She sobbed. "This never would have happened."

Boomer breathed heavily.

"Bubbles…don't blame yourself…I'd do it all again…please…don't blame yourself…my feelings for you…was the best thing that's ever happened to you…it's not a bad thing…"

She looked down into his eyes. Boomer breathed deeply. He was clearly getting weaker.

"Don't worry…I'll be alright…it's…alright…it's not your faul…"

With that, Boomer's eyes closed, and he was silent.

Bubbles looked down, still crying.

"My God…is he...?"

Weasel bent down and checked his pulse.

"No…he's just unconscious…but we need to do something fast."

Butch, feeling ashamed of himself, looked up at Weasel.

"What can fix him?" said Butch.

Professor Utonium examined his nub on the other side of his body.

"He's lost a lot of blood," said Utonium. "We need to do a transfusion quick. I assume you brothers are the same blood type."

"They are," said Weasel, nodding in agreement.

"Thank God. One of you boys needs to give him blood."

"I'll do it," said Butch immediately.

Brick saw that Butch was upset, and spoke up.

"I can do it if-" said Brick.

"No." said Butch, looking up at him, clearly upset over what had transpired. "I'm doing it."

Brick saw that Butch was determined and did not press the issue further.

"Alright," said the Professor. "Lets get him inside the lab quickly. I've got all the equipment we need there."

Brick and Butch picked up Boomer carefully and carried him inside. Bubbles followed close by, looking over him. Buttercup and Blossom were close by Bubbles, seeing she was obviously upset. Dexter soon followed inside, biting his lip with worry; Otto and Coop followed with similar expressions.

Soon, the only ones outside were the unconscious Blaine and Brisbaine, still trapped. Brisbaine sat in the field, furious. He had no idea how his situation could get any worse.

Unfortunately for Brisbaine, it would get much worse very soon.

* * *

Within a few minutes, Boomer was put in a separate room of the lab, on a steel table that had been turned into a makeshift bed by Utonium, with blankets put under him to make it more comfortable. The lab was almost entirely made of metal, making it much less comforting than a hospital, but it would have to do; the hospital was all the way across town, and the personnel there most likely didn't know how to deal with a patient whose chemical makeup was much different than the average human. Boomer's nub now had a tourniquet tightly tied to it and new cloth on it. Weasel sat on a chair by him, to monitor his condition. The bleeding had almost completely stopped, but Weasel didn't know what would happen if they didn't get him more blood to him quickly.

In the other room, Utonium got a plastic blood bag and a needle. Butch sat on a chair next to him as Utonium tried to find a vein in his arm. Brick sat on a chair near him, telling Butch of the events that had transpired while he was away, upon Butch's request. Blossom and Buttercup sat on a small steel table, on either side of Bubbles, trying to comfort her as she became a nervous wreck. Dexter stood against the wall near Blossom. Otto and Coop stood against another wall close to Brick and Butch, watching the procedure Utonium was performing.

Utonium prepared to stick the needle in as Brick finished telling Butch his story.

"I see," said Butch as Brick finished. Although Butch was interested in these events, right now his mind was on more pressing matters.

The Professor prepared to stick the needle into Butch.

"Now, I must warn you," said the Professor to Butch. "Boomer has lost quite a bit of blood, so we will be drawing more than one pint of blood from you. Usually it's only recommended to take one pint of blood from someone a day. So, are you sure you want to do th-"

"Listen, doc," said Butch, narrowing his eyes. "My brother's getting all the blood he needs. I don't care how it makes me feel. The way I see it, either you stick the needle in, or I can get a knife and a bucket and get it myself. Either way, he's getting all the blood he needs."

The Professor stared blankly at him, then nodded. He stuck the needle in, and began to draw blood from Butch.

"Keep your arm still for about a minute. You may feel a little woozy after this," he said.

Butch glanced at the blood draining from the needle into a tube leading to the large blood bag the Professor had with him. After he became uninterested with watching his blood drain, Butch looked around the room. His eyes fell across everyone and stopped at Bubbles, with her head held down, in between her sisters.

_She's out here?_ thought Butch. _No…this isn't right._

Butch's gaze was on her for several moments before he spoke out.

"Hey!" he yelled, startling Bubbles. "What are you doing out here?"

Misinterpreting Butch's intentions, Buttercup shot a furious glare at Butch.

"Why don't you shut up?" said Buttercup. "You've done enough damage to her today. You don't have to blame more crap on her."

Butch glared back.

"That's not what I meant!" snapped Butch. He turned back to Bubbles. "I mean, why aren't you in there?" He tilted his head towards the other room, where Boomer was.

Bubbles looked over at Butch, then looked down sadly.

"I…can't…" she said. "I know what he said but…I still feel like it's…my fault he's…like this." Her eyes began to get teary.

At this, Butch began to get angry.

"You really are stupid!" said Butch.

"Butch!" said Brick, shooting an angry glance at him.

Buttercup looked like she was preparing to kill him. The Professor also looked up from draining his blood to glare at him. Everyone else's attention became drawn to the conversation at hand.

Butch, however, prattled on.

"She is!" said Butch, intending to make his point proven. "Look here, Blondie. I have no idea how or why, but that kid in there…my brother…he actually likes you!"

Bubbles looked at Butch confused.

"He's…he's in a bad way!" continued Butch. "The first thing he's gonna want to see when he gets up is you! And now you're telling me you won't give him that, just because you feel sorry for yourself!"

Bubbles looked up at Butch, beginning to see that Butch was actually making sense, in his own angry way.

Butch glared at her again, then looked away.

"If it makes you feel any better," said Butch, in a slightly calmer tone, "I was just mad before…I didn't mean all that crap earlier…I know it's not your fault…it was mine."

Brick looked at him confused.

"Butch, it wasn't-"

"Yes, it was," said Butch, asserting himself. "You and I both know it. If I hadn't been such a jerk in the first place, Boomer might still have his arm."

Butch turned back to Bubbles, whose crying had ceased.

"I yelled at him. I hit him. I practically threw him out. And now he doesn't have an arm. And YOU think you're terrible just because he liked you?"

Butch looked away, to hide the fact that, despite his horror, his eyes began to swell up.

" _I'm_ the one who did something wrong," said Butch. "So stop acting so freaking sorry for yourself and get in there with my brother!" After a moment he added, "it's what way he would want it."

Butch wiped his hand over his face to hide the fact that he was on the verge of crying, despite his efforts not to.

Bubbles looked at Butch, then looked back down to the floor again. After a moment, she stood up from the table and walked towards the doorway to the other room. She stopped before the doorway, wiped the lingering tears from her reddened eyes and turned to Butch.

"Thank you," she said. With that she walked through the doorway, towards Boomer.

Butch looked up from his hand to see everyone staring at him in amazement.

"What are you all are staring at!" shouted Butch, not liking the idea of so many people staring at him while he was in an unusually vulnerable state. With this almost everyone turned their attention away.

Brick looked at his brother with utter shock and admiration.

The Professor took the needle out of Butch, and rolled up his needle and tubing.

"Yes, that'll do," said Utonium, before running into the other room with the large blood bag.

Butch looked down at the floor, then turned back to Brick, who he felt was staring at him.

"You did a good thing just now, Butch," said Brick.

Butch looked away from Brick.

"I…I was just a little dizzy from having my blood taken. I didn't know what I was talking about," lied Butch.

"Sure you didn't, Butch," said Brick, not believing the obvious lie. "Sure you didn't."

Butch looked down, trying not to appear nervous.

Brick put his hand on his shoulder.

"He'll be okay," said Brick, even though he wasn't entirely sure.

Butch didn't reply. Once again, Butch felt powerless. He had already done all he could do. All he could do now was wait.

* * *

Outside, Brisbaine paced around the space inside the static dome. Brisbaine was worried. There was no conceivable way to get out of the domes from the inside; the Cluster had designed them too well. Brisbaine tried to think of some design flaw that would allow him to escape, but there was none. After a few minutes of frantic pacing, Brisbaine had to come to the fact that he was doomed.

Brisbaine sat down in the dirt, and waited for the Girls, the Boys, and their cohorts to come out of the house, to do god-knows-what to him. However, as he was feeling the fear of his own demise crushing him, he looked out and saw new figures on the lawn.

A short figure, that Brisbaine could not see clearly in the night, walked over to the crater where Blaine was. It looked down, then called over to its unseen companions. From the shadows, several hulking, grotesque silhouettes emerged. One large figure picked up Blaine with only one hand, and swung it over his shoulder. Another figure walked over towards the Megas, climbed the mountain of metal towards the car at its peak, reached inside for something, before quickly crawling back down. Brisbaine looked in its hand and recognized the person it was carrying as Barrack, Butch's Emergency Backup.

Before Brisbaine had time to think and make sense of all this, the short figure walked closer to him. In its hand was the belt that Butch had dropped. The figure pushed a button on it and the static field over Brisbaine flickered and faded. Brisbaine looked around, in disbelief. He could not believe he was saved after all.

The short figure edged closer to him, finally coming into Brisbane's view. Once he saw the figure's identity, he knew he was not saved. He knew that when this person was dispatched, it never means salvation. The sight of this figure only led to pain.

The white haired figure walked closer to Brisbaine. Brisbaine tried to back away, but the figure grabbed his jacket and held him down with great strength.

The white haired girl looked up with her matching colored eyes, and smiled innocently, like a wolf in sheep's clothing.

"Father would like a word with you," said Bell.

Unwillingly, Brisbaine had been dragged out of the frying pan and into the fire.

* * *

Bubbles sat in a chair by the right side of Boomer's bed. The chair had previously been occupied by Weasel, but after the Professor hooked up the blood bag to an IV he had, and connected it to Boomer, Weasel decided to leave them alone.

Bubbles was still terrified; even Weasel said he didn't know if it would be effective or not. For the moment, Boomer was alive, but he was very weak, and couldn't wake up. Without more proper medical equipment, he had no way of telling when or if Boomer would regain consciousness.

Bubbles sat at his side, then finally had the nerve to speak to his unconscious body.

"Hey…Boomer," she said, trying not to cry. "Weasel said it…might help if I talked to you while you were…like this."

Bubbles tried to keep the sobs in her throat from coming to the surface. Despite how much she tried, the sight of Boomer like that made tears surface to her eyes.

"I…I don't think I ever said this, but I'm glad I was able meet you again," she said. "Years ago…when I saw the first you…the bad one…all my memories of you were bad. I'm glad I know that you're…you're a good person. That you and your brothers are…different from them. You…you're a good person. A great person…And…I'm glad for all that you've done for me…"

Bubbles put her hand on her mouth and let a sob slip.

"Please, Boomer…please get better. If something happened to you…it just wouldn't be fair," she said, crying. "Please…please wake up."

Bubbles reached out and grabbed Boomer's right hand. It remained motionless in her grasp.

"Please wake up…" she said. "Please…I...I need to see you alright again."

She waited, hoping that as she finished, he would miraculously jump up from the bed. However, he did not.

She lost control of her emotions and began to sob more. She put her face in the blankets on Boomer's bed, all the while still holding on to his hand.

She continued to cry, soaking the sheets with her tears.

However, as she held Boomer's hand, she felt a twinge in her hand. Shocked at this, she pulled her face from the sheets and looked at Boomer's hand, to insure that she was not just imagining. As she stared, it remained lifeless for a moment, but then the fingers began to curl inward, in their own power.

_He's moving,_ she thought, hardly believing it.

She gripped his arm and shook it, trying to bring him into full conscious.

As she did this, she heard a weak, whimpering voice.

"You don't…have to do that…"

Bubbles looked over at Boomer's face and saw that his eyes were halfway open. They were looking into her eyes. Bubbles looked into his eyes and tears ran quicker down her face, except now they were tears of joy. She reached over and embraced him, in a mix of crying and laughing.

"Boomer!" she yelled, joyfully. "You're alright."

"I've…felt better…" he said, putting his hand on her back. "I'm…glad you're here…"

"I am too," said Bubbles, laughing and crying at the same time. "I am too." She tightened her embrace.

_Thank God,_ she thought. _He's okay...he's okay!_

Although Boomer was weak and the embrace put him in some pain, but did not say so, because he enjoyed the embrace as much as she, despite the discomfort.

From the doorway, Brick leaned in, to investigate the yelling. He saw that Boomer was awake and yelled back into the room.

"He's alright!" he yelled. With this, everyone rushed into the room. They surrounded Boomer and Bubbles, with much relief and jubilation. Everyone was either smiling or crying with joy. Even Butch couldn't help but be jubilant upon seeing his brother was alive. He smiled at his brother, something he could never remember doing before. Butch had never felt such relief in his life as he did in that single moment he saw his brother was alive.

For those moments, all the worry these characters had faded away at the sight of this small miracle. For those moments, there was no fear, sadness, or anger. All their problems were irrelevant for that short time.

All that mattered was that he was alright.


	20. Epilogue: Exeunt

"Well, now what do we do?" said Brick.

Brick leaned on the wall by Boomer's bed. Boomer had regained enough strength to sit upright, although he was still fragile. Bubbles remained in her seat closest to Boomer's bed. Weasel remained standing up, monitoring Boomer's IV and his condition. Coop, Otto, Blossom, and Buttercup brought in folding chairs from the other room. Dexter also elected to stand, taking his place near Blossom. Butch leaned on the wall opposite of Brick, watching over Boomer intensely.

"Well, we need…a place to stay," said Boomer, still breathing heavily. "It's not we…can go back to the lab…"

"Indeed," said Weasel. "I was taking residence there as well…I have a house in California, but I'm certain Brisbaine's friends will be waiting for me there…I'll need to find a new house…lay low for a while."

"As do we," said Brick.

"Whoa whoa," said Butch, putting his hands up, looking irritated that they had forgotten a more pressing issue. "First things first. What do we do with those freaks we left outside?"

"He's got a point," said Dexter. "Maybe I should go out there and make sure they don't try anything."

Dexter started walking away to go but Buttercup got from her chair.

"Hang on, Four-Eyes," said Buttercup, causing Dexter to stop and look at her angrily. "I'll go…in case one of them tries something."

Dexter opened his mouth to insist, but quickly realized the futility of arguing with Buttercup, and simply walked back to his seat. Buttercup walked out the room, and exited the lab.

"Well, now that that's settled for now," said Otto, after remaining silent for a long time. "We need to find you guys a place to stay."

"That might not be necessary," said Weasel. "Well…" He turned to the Professor. "Are there any houses for sale around here?"

The Professor rubbed his chin.

"Well…lets see…oh yeah!" he said, remembering a location. "A couple blocks from here. The Patakis just moved away. Yeah, that should still be for sale…but why do you ask?"

Weasel smiled.

"I don't like to toot my own horn, but I have made some influential discoveries that have made me quite wealthy. I believe I have more than enough money to purchase that house."

Weasel glanced over at each of the Rowdyruffs.

"I…don't want to overstep my bounds," he said. "But if you Boys want to...I mean, I'm not good with kids but…"

"What are you getting at, doc?" said Butch, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I mean, it's not like either of us have anywhere to go…and you kids need looking after…so…I figure…why not stay with me?"

Butch raised an eyebrow at him and looked over to Brick, who struggled. Butch then turned to Boomer.

"You make the call," said Butch, nodding to Boomer.

Boomer was not expecting Butch to put the decision in his hands. Remaining silent, Boomer rested his head on his remaining hand, breathed in another deep breath, and thought.

_Well…it's basically the only choice there is,_ thought Boomer. _Not to mention it's close…we'd be living near…_

Boomer glanced over at Bubbles. After another moment of thought, he looked back at Weasel.

"Mr. Weasel," said Boomer, "we'd be happy to stay with you."

Weasel smiled.

Once Bubbles heard Boomer answered, her attention perked back up.

"So…Boom-I mean, they'll be living right by here?" asked Bubbles.

"It sure does look that way," said Coop, moving his lower half in the seat to get comfortable.

Bubbles smiled, looking over at Boomer. Their eyes met, causing both of them to look away from the other, blushing.

Blossom sat in the corner, seeming uneasy. She bit her lip, hesitant to ask the question on her mind.

"Brick…Butch…" she said finally, making them both turn their attention toward her. "I'm…just to clarify, we all are…you know…I mean, you guys and us…we're…alright, right?"

Brick looked over sideways at Butch, wondering how he would react, since Butch had become especially unpredictable in the past hour.

Butch didn't say anything for a minute. He looked over at Boomer, then looked at Bubbles.

"Well," said Butch, without looking at Blossom, "you won't have to worry about us coming and killing you in your sleep, if that's your concern."

Blossom widened her eyes at Butch's odd words, but Brick added his opinion.

"Don't worry," he said. "That's just Butch's borderline psychotic way of saying he's starting to like you guys."

Butch grunted, but he did not deny Brick's comment.

Butch had a strange way of making peace, but Boomer knew that Butch really meant when he said he wouldn't turn on them. The past day had given Boomer a real insight into how Butch thought.

While Boomer thought aimlessly, Bubbles stared at him nub.

"Is it...are you feeling alright?" asked Bubbles, gently.

"Yeah," said Boomer, smiling at Bubbles. He turned to his tied off arm. "It's not that bad. I guess I'll just have to get used to the feeling of only having one arm…"

Surprisingly, out of the blue, Dexter started laughing. This seemed highly inappropriate, causing him to get odd stares from most everyone. Butch in particular glared at his seemingly disrespectful nature.

"What's so freaking funny?" said Butch, angrily.

Dexter regained control, then looked at Butch, pleased with himself.

"Come on," said Dexter. "Did you think a scientist like me was gonna leave my new friend armless?"

Butch raised an eyebrow and looked over at Brick, confused. Boomer also had a look of confusion on his face.

Dexter straightened his glasses and grinned.

"Just leave it to me," he said.

As he finished his sentence, Buttercup ran down the stairs of the lab frantically and went into the room.

"They're gone!" she said.

At this, everyone turned to Buttercup, shocked and somewhat skeptical.

"W-what do you mean 'they're gone?'" said Boomer, his nerves of the new stumbling him momentarily back into his old habit.

Buttercup, obviously angry herself at this new development, answered.

"All of them," she said. "Even the kid Coop locked up in Megas…"

Everyone looked at the other, nervous. Boomer started to sweat profusely. Bubbles saw this and almost immediately put her hand on his to offer some comfort.

_Dear lord,_ thought Boomer. _Where are they?_

* * *

"I've picked up your trash, Father," said Bell, throwing Brisbaine down to the obsidian, wire-strewn floor of Black Eden. Brisbaine clattered to the floor. As he struggled to get up, he saw a gray, comfortable chair in front of him. Behind it were a vast amount of computer monitors with complex technical readouts, containing information about everything from the power output date to schematics of Cluster war machines. Seated in the gray chair was Dr. X, his red-orange form towering over Brisbaine, all six of his yellow eyes glaring directly downward.

Behind Brisbaine, Bell spoke to her father, in a voice that indicated annoyed undertones.

"Can I go now?"

Dr. X temporarily moved his ominous gaze from Brisbaine to look at his daughter.

"Of course. You may return to your room," said Dr. X.

Bell glared at her father for a split second, then walked away to her room. As she walked away, Brisbaine saw a small, greenish figure run out from behind the shadows of the complex machinery that decorate the lair of the Darkstar Council. The small figure tottered after Bell, joyfully yelling phrases that seem to merely be words randomly thrown together without regard for any meaning whatsoever.

Brisbaine turned back to Dr. X, who was pulling his massive body from the chair and began to walk slowly around Brisbaine.

"You'll have to excuse my daughter's attitude," said Dr. X. "She is still upset over a recent loss in our ranks."

Still on the floor, Brisbaine tried to conceal his fear and replied.

"I'm very sorry to hear th-"

"John, let's just skip the formalities and get to the point," said Dr. X, still walking around Brisbaine, like a cougar stalking its prey, waiting for the slightest flinch in the prey's body before it pounced. All six of Dr. X's eyes reset their gaze on Brisbaine. "John…I am not happy about this."

Brisbaine didn't dare try to stand up from the floor. Those yellow, demonic eyes seemed to paralyze Brisbaine. Brisbaine thought that the moment he moved, Dr. X would unleash whatever power his behemoth of a body held, destroying his flesh as easily as one would crush a fly.

Out from the shadows, Montray's purple, metal body clattered outward, his massive mechanical wings tucked behind his back. Within each of his massive claws, he held the unconscious husks of Blaine and Barrack.

"Dr. X," interrupted Montray, "Kuwagus and I have obtained the boys. What shall I do with them?"

Dr. X momentarily stepped away from his deadly orbit around Brisbaine and examined each of the Boys.

He looked at Barrack first.

"This one is of little use to us," said Dr. X. "He cannot think beyond commanded orders. He's barely sentient. Put him in stasis with Mojo. He's just another result of John's…mistakes."

"Yes," said Montray, grinning with his razor teeth in sinister glee. "Brisbaine does seem to make a lot of mistakes…doesn't he?"

Brisbaine glared back at Montray. It was no secret there was a history of hostility between the two. Brisbaine figured he must have felt like dancing when Dr. X dropped the hammer on him.

Dr. X did not pay any attention as he was examining Blaine more closely than he had Barrack.

"Hmm…," said Dr. X, pondering. "This one has proven himself more interesting. Ensure his wounds are treated."

Dr. X leaned in closer.

"The right side of his face was badly burned. Irreversible damage may have been done to the eye."

He lifted up Blaine's twisted, deformed right hand.

"The index and middle finger are broken."

Dr. X turned away back towards Brisbaine.

"Treat those wounds. If you have to, replace the eye with an optical implant. Use anesthetic to ensure he does not regain consciousness until I say he can."

Montray nodded at Dr. X as he walked away. Before Montray turned and walked away, he looked Brisbaine in the eye and spared another sinister grin.

"John…" said Dr. X, skulking around Brisbaine once again. "Do you have any idea how much your failure has cost us?"

"I…I understand there were some small setbacks," said Brisbaine, "but I think-"

"Small setbacks?" said Dr. X angrily. His yellow eyes glowed red. "No…this is not a small setback. A small setback is when I accidentally buy the wrong thing from the supermarket…no…this is not a small setback." The red eyes glowed brighter. "This is a colossal failure!"

Brisbaine's hair began to get soaked in sweat.

"Let me try to put this in perspective for you," continued Dr. X. "Now, because of your…actions…"

"Now wait," said Brisbaine, making one last attempt to defend himself, "it wasn't my fault. Boomer attacked me and ran-"

"Don't lie to me, John. We know everything. I sensed something was amist so I sent a drone to investigate your location, where we found Brick's Backup. All we had to do was order the one called Blitz to tell us everything he knew, and he did. Don't insult my intelligence with your lies."

Finding that he was now helpless, Brisbaine was now forced to resort to more cowardly tactics.

"I…I am sorry, Dr. X," said Brisbaine.

"Sorry doesn't help the situation. Now, instead of having to exterminate three children with immense power that grows over time, I have to deal with six. You turn a child's crush into a mistake that costs most of our Chemical X resources. You can't even get the other Rowdys to retrieve the remains of that insignificant spacecraft Vexus asked me to obtain. And as if that all wasn't bad enough, you let them have contact with I.M. Weasel, who's no doubt tipped them into where the Rowdyruff facility is. Who knows what else he told them. You didn't even finish Final X…what we can't retrieve from the Rowdyruff facility we will have to destroy before they can get their hands on more information.

"You have no idea the amount of pain you are about to be put through."

Brisbaine couldn't help but ask the question he most feared thinking about.

"Are…are you going to kill me?" asked Brisbaine.

Dr. X loomed over Brisbaine.

"No, John…I'm not going to kill you," said Dr. X. "But soon you might wish I had. I'm going to make you into something useful."

Brisbaine had absolutely no idea what Dr. X was talking about.

"As of this moment, your status under the service of the Darkstar Council has been re-evaluated," continued Dr. X, walking back over to his chair. "You are no longer a scientist…but you will not be allowed to leave with the information you know. As of this moment, your profession in this organization has been demoted to…" Dr. X sat down in the gray chair. "…human test subject."

Brisbaine's eyes grew wider. He scrabbled off the floor onto his feet.

"Dr. X, you…you can't be serious!" said Brisbaine, frightened.

Dr. X's face showed he was absolutely serious.

"You are to be the personal test subject of whoever expresses the need for one first. Then maybe you'll-"

From behind one of the screens located behind Dr. X's screen, a short figure popped out. It wore a French maid's outfit, despite the fact it appeared male. Its face was green, and had pupiless, purple eyes. Instantly, the figure scurried from behind the monitor and ran up to Dr. X.

"Ooh-ooh-ooh," said Zim, waving his arms in front of Dr. X frantically, speaking at almost hyperactive speed. "Pick me! Pick me! I want a human meat slave! Please please please? I'll be good! I'll be good! I'll create something great! Please? I'll even give back all the squishy organs I don't use! Please? Pleeeeeeaase?"

Dr. X, surprised he was able to loose patience of Zim's antics so quickly, gave in.

"Alright," said Dr. X, causing Brisbaine to have a look of pure, uncontrollable fear on his face. "Fine. You can use him for tests. Just make sure you use him for something useful, and ensure it doesn't interfere with your cleaning duties."

Zim smiled, turned around, and began to yell triumphantly to no one in particular.

"Success! Success for Zim!"

Brisbaine was now officially Zim's personal test subject. The first thought that Brisbaine had after realized that fact was _why couldn't he have just killed me?_

Zim, obviously pleased with himself, turned back to Dr. X.

"You need not worry!" he said. "I will build this stringy beast of meat and hair into a creation so incredible that your brain ooze fluid upon beholding the brilliance of the Irkan elite! Even the Cluster will bow down and kneel before my AMAZING GENIUS! KNEEL THEY WILL BEFORE _ZIM_!"

Dr. X groaned, realizing he would soon regret this. The only plus side to letting Zim get his hands on a test subject was that it would ensure that Brisbaine would get the punishment he deserved for his mistake. Dr. X almost felt sorry for Brisbaine. _Almost_.

Zim turned and looked Brisbaine up and down. While he did this, Brisbaine made one final plea.

"Dr. X, please reconsider!" he said.

"Sorry, John, but I have an operation to run," said Dr. X.

Brisbaine looked down at the ground. There was no hope for him now.

Zim finished looking Brisbaine over and called out.

"GIR! COME TO YOUR MASTER!" There was no response. "GIR, COME!" There was still no response. "GIR!"

After the last call, the same small green creature that had followed Bell into her room ran out quickly. It looked like a cross between a green dog and a character from _Hello Kitty_ gone horribly wrong.

"Yes master!" said Gir, saluting Zim, looking serious for only a moment before it lowered its arm and rolled around on the ground, babbling gibberish.

"Gir, I require materials," said Zim, his eyes following Gir as he rolled on the ground. "Go fetch me some anesthesia, a hacksaw, a power converter, a sonic screwdriver, any spare metal you happen to find, AND…" Zim thought for a minute. "Umm…AND A SPATULA!"

Gir got up and stuck its fake tongue out.

"ARE WE MAKIN' WAFFLES!" it yelled with glee.

"Not this time, Gir. This spatula is for SCIENCE!"

Brisbaine watched in horror at the fools he was now in the hands of.

_Life as the personal guinea pig of an Irkan idiot,_ thought Brisbaine. Brisbaine felt his fear consume him. This buffoon was going to operate on him and he didn't know what he was going to do. He didn't know who would be so horrible to operate on someone against their will.

Perhaps if Brisbaine was not so afraid, he might have realized the irony in that thought.

* * *

One week after Blaine's attack…

* * *

"Alright, almost done," said Dexter, tightening the last bolt with his wrench. "And…there we go! So, how does it feel?"

Boomer hesitated for a moment, then tried to move the sophisticated prosthetic arm Dexter had designed for him. Boomer brought his arm into his view to look over it. Dexter had outdone himself; it looked almost exactly like his old arm, except made of gray steel. When Dexter had first approached Boomer with this idea, Boomer was afraid he would make his arm appear skeletal and ghoulish, like something out of the Terminator; however, Dexter had done a good job making it appear very smooth and human-looking. Boomer looked down at where the metal joined the remains of his left arm, which were held together by the bolts Dexter had just finished screwing in. He moved the joints of his arm and wrist around, making a quiet, clanking sound as he moved it. Dexter had found a way to connect his nerves into the arm, which was very painful, but now Boomer saw it was worth it.

"It's good…but it feels kinda heavy," said Boomer.

Dexter straightened his glasses.

"Well, that's just a prototype," said Dexter. "This is only a temporary solution while I try to work on a more refined model that'll have synthetic skin on the outside. This one isn't perfect, and I still haven't figure out how to make your prosthetic arm charge energy..."

Boomer continued to move around his arm.

"That's okay," said Boomer. "I'm just glad to have an arm again."

Dexter smiled.

Boomer looked around Dexter's lab and gazed at all the other great mechanical creations he had within.

Dexter pulled up his sleeve and looked at the watch.

"Well, we should get to school now," said Dexter. "Sorry to call you in early, I just thought you'd prefer to have this done before your first day."

Boomer looked at his arm, then looked down at the ground, glumly. Dexter immediatly noticed this.

"What's wrong?" said Dexter, although he already had a good idea what the answer would be.

"It's just..." said Boomer. "I mean...Blaine and Brisbaine are still out there somewhere...I don't know how I'll..."

Dexter put his hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, don't get like this," said Dexter, concerned. "Just remember what Butch said..."

Shortly after they had discovered Blaine and Brisbaine had disappeared, Boomer came upon the verge of a nervous breakdown. Butch had looked Boomer in the eye and said, "Don't worry. If they come back, we'll give them enough suffering for two lifetimes. Together." In Butch's odd way, he was able to comfort his brother for the first time.

Boomer was somewhat comforted by this memory.

"You okay?" asked Dexter.

"I'll...I'll try to be," he said, getting up from the chair Dexter had him in.

"Alright," said Dexter. "Let's go."

Dexter pushed a button on his watch and a steel wall nearby opened forth, revealing his normal bedroom. He and Boomer walked through his room, down the hallway, and into Dexter's living room. On the couch, Butch and Brick were sitting on the couch, watching TV while they waited for Boomer.

On the TV, a tall, bald African American man was talking while he had a picture of a bright blue light seen on Earth by a satellite orbiting it.

"…NASA has declined to comment, and we at _Mysterious Mysteries of Strange Mysteries_ have yet to uncover the source of this mysterious light seen almost a week ago.

"In other news, Amity Park has received more mass sightings of what some believe are ghos-"

Brick saw Boomer and Dexter come down and turned off the TV. As Boomer came down, Brick and Butch walked over and looked at his arm.

"Whoa," said Butch, looking over Boomer's steel arm. "The nerd sure did a good job. Does it feel alright?"

Boomer nodded, hiding his preoccupation about Blaine.

"I told you not to call me that," said Dexter to Butch.

"Very nice," said Brick. "This sure does look a lot like the metal arm from _Full_ -"

Dexter coughed to interrupt.

"My inventions are one hundred percent original and this design is in no way influenced by that famous show that I have never seen," he said.

Brick raised an eyebrow at him, and Boomer managed to smile.

"Anyway," said Dexter, changing the subject from the inspirations for his inventions, "we should probably go now. The Girls are probably out waiting for us."

Butch rolled his eyes, because he was still not as comfortable with being around the Girls Boomer and Brick had become.

"I don't even see why we have to go to school at all," said Butch, walking with the others as they approached the door.

"Well, I can see why you would complain about learning," joked Brick.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" said Butch, annoyed.

Dexter opened the door, and the rays of the sun shined upon them. Beyond Dexter's front porch, just as Dexter had predicted, the Girls were outside, along with Otto who had ran into them on the way. Buttercup was sitting on the sidewalk just beyond the lawn, while Blossom and Bubbles stood over her, waiting. Once the door opened, Bubbles turned and ran towards Boomer.

"Morning!" said Bubbles cheerfully. Boomer raised his left hand to wave, not realizing it was his prosthetic hand. Bubbles slowed down in front of him and took hold of the prosthetic arm, causing Boomer to blush.

"Wow…" she said, looking at it. "Dexter did a really good job."

"Thanks," said Dexter, walking past Boomer and Bubbles towards Blossom. They started talking while Bubbles still looked over his arm.

Meanwhile, Brick nudged Butch to indicate that maybe they should give Boomer and Bubbles some privacy to talk. Butch reluctantly walked with him towards the Girls. Buttercup looked up at Butch and glared. Butch returned the expression. During the past week, although they were not either friends or enemies, they had developed a strange, competitive relationship. Considering their similar personalities, both seemed to think they were obligated to compete at almost conceivable opportunity. This resulted in many shouting matches, but since neither wanted to interfere with their siblings' happiness, they never got in any truly serious physical bouts.

Brick stood by the side and shot the breeze with Otto.

Bubbles finally relinquished Boomer's prosthetic arm. After that, she smiled at him, making Boomer's heart beat faster as always.

"I'm…I'm glad you have a new arm now," said Bubbles.

Boomer smiled back at her.

From near the sidewalk, Otto called out.

"Hey! Come on, let's go!" he yelled.

Bubbles looked back at Otto and the others. They were all waiting, except for Butch and Buttercup, who were already flying down the sidewalk, no doubt another result of their competitive nature. She twirled back to Boomer. She smiled once again. She held out her right hand.

"Come on…let's go," she said.

Boomer looked down at her hand and hesitated for a moment. He looked up into her shining face and bright blue eyes. All the worries he had about Blaine and Brisbaine seemed to melt away; by gazing into her eyes, he somehow knew everything would be alright, everything would be alright. He took her hand with his right, natural hand.

And together, hands entwined, they ran off into the bright morning.

* * *

" _And yet I wish but for the thing I have:  
My bounty is as boundless as the sea,_

_My love as deep; the more I give to thee,  
The more I have, for both are infinite."_

_-Romeo and Juliet, Act II Scene 2_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was certainly a thing!
> 
> So, as I stated originally, this was the first fic I ever posted way back in 2006. I was just taking writing seriously and, as you could probably tell, there were some significant flaws ... but I'd be lying if I said I didn't look back on it a little fondly. I actually just reread this for the first time in many many years the other night and, despite fearing it would be TERRIBLE from start to finish, I found myself smiling quite a bit.
> 
> Don't get me wrong, there are tons of flaws. Third-person limited viewpoint isn't used entirely correctly, POV sometimes jumps in awkward ways, there are several instances of outright concealing things from the reader that POV character already become aware of (something I since consider kind of a cheat in writing because it kinda is), and a lot of the dialogue and plot gets cheesy and schlocky. It also relies heavily on action in the second half which I would eventually find out is not my strength. Probably the most egregious of problems was that, at the time I wrote this, I did not do much revision aside from some proofreading ... which upon further inspection was very lax even for just proofreading. (To any fellow fanfic writers who may be reading this, please never do this, always take the time to revise your work, I cannot stress this enough. The second draft is where serviceable stories become good and where good stories become excellent).
> 
> But despite ALL of that, I do look fondly on it just because I do see shades of my own style starting to develop even in this very rough-around-the-edges story. Focus on characterization and dialogue above everything else, characters who are INTENSELY flawed and conflicted, meshing serious character drama with humor, unapologetic dark humor, sci-fi and fantasy tropes thrown around with wild abandon (with the occassional tongue-in-cheek) ... all of these are things I love to do in my work and, even back then, you can see it start. A lot of this story was an exercise in figuring out how to write and, even though it is not my best work and there are many things that are objectively bad or muddled about it, I had a lot of fun finding how I wanted to write with this story.
> 
> And there are still some things that held up better than I thought. Boomer is an endearing main character, Butch is decently good complex supporting character, a lot of the Boomer/Bubbles romance moments are still really cute. There is nothing I love more than writing awkward social situations and this story has quite a few (maybe not done as well as I would do now, but still...) Blaine, despite being kind of a classic, not-very-complex villain, does get some good lines and has a bit of charm just by how completely unapologetic he is about just being an outright prick. I REALLY like how Brisbaine is built up as a serious threat of a character, only for him to get screwed out of his glory by Blaine and spends the entire rest of the story being extremely pathetic and salty about the situation. THAT was the thing that most struck me as something I'd do in a story now and play 100% for laughs.
> 
> It really surprised me that even seeing all its many flaws, I still found things I still liked. Maybe it's those things that have kept it remaining popular on FF.net even after so long. I guess that just goes to show even the stories that don't turn out as well as you'd hope still have a lesson to teach you as you write and can still have value.
> 
> So those are my thoughts. I hope you enjoyed this story in some way. Until next time, keep writing and have a nice day...


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